This Halloween, the Mad Lab at the Royal Gunpowder Mills is hijacked by Dr Gore, and assistants armed with powders and liquids draw in the kids to conjure up wickedly messy experiments. From Saturday, October 26, to Friday, November 1, families can get into the spirit by making wizard hats and a range of Halloween arts and crafts.

Included in the ticket are all the exhibitions explaining the history of the site, with opportunities to learn from knowledgeable stewards and guides. The Armoury has a superb collection of historic firearms where guides explain the technology with a range of guns that can be handled and inspected by visitors. The Rocket Vault holds one of the best collections of British rockets where you can learn about the Cold War research carried out at the Mills. A tractor trailer tour will take you to the secret parts of the site otherwise inaccessible to the public.

What cannot be guaranteed is that you’ll experience a ghost. But they exist at the Mills, according to paranormal investigators. They cause no problems, and have no names. The manufacture here was extremely dangerous and inevitably there were explosions and loss of life, but far less than one would imagine considering production spanned over 300 years. Now it is a peaceful place of education, with school programmes, study days, tours, and fun family events.

Visit royalgunpowdermills.com