Hellfire Caves Fright Nights start 24 October, Twelve Angry Men plays the Swan 13 to 17 October and Odds Farm picks pumpkins daily over half term.

Halloween dominates the next four weeks in High Wycombe. The Hellfire Caves at West Wycombe run their 16-plus Fright Nights on 24 October and from 28 to 31 October, Odds Farm Park picks pumpkins daily over half term, and Wycombe Museum’s pumpkin trail starts on 11 October. At the Wycombe Swan, Twelve Angry Men runs from 13 to 17 October and Dog Man: The Musical fills the first three days of half term. November opens with the Marlow Half Marathon on the 1st, fireworks at Flackwell Heath and Marlow Bottom on Saturday 7th and Remembrance Sunday on the 8th.

Updated 6 October: past events removed, every listing re-checked against the organisers’ own pages and The Illegal Eagles (16 November) added. No dates or prices have changed since 4 October.

Every entry below links to its source so you can check before you set off. For places that are open whatever the month, see our guide to things to do in High Wycombe, and for everything spooky in one place, our High Wycombe Halloween page.

This week

  • Between The Covers Live: Celebrating Agatha Christie, Wednesday 7 October, 7.30pm, Wycombe Swan, HP11 2XE. The touring live show, this one given over to Agatha Christie and crime fiction. £30. (Wycombe Swan)
  • Babes in the Wood Forest School, Thursday 8 October, 10am to 11.30am, Wycombe Museum, HP13 6PX. Outdoor forest school in the museum grounds for toddlers from about 18 months to five years, run by Nature’s Jewels. £8.90 per child, booking essential. It runs again on Thursday 22 October and Thursday 5 November. (Wycombe Museum)
  • Open Mic Night, Friday 9 October, 7.30pm to 10.30pm, Wycombe Arts Centre, HP11 2PU. Held on the second Friday of every month, for ages 16 and over. Music, comedy, poetry and dance are all welcome, and performers sign up on the night. (Wycombe Arts Centre)
  • Talk: The Bucks Battalion at War, 1914 to 1918, Sunday 11 October, 1pm to 2pm, Wycombe Museum, HP13 6PX. Lt Col Derek Plews follows the county’s Territorial battalion, which had companies in High Wycombe and Marlow, from the Somme to northern Italy. Free, booking recommended, suggested donation £5. (Wycombe Museum)
  • Pumpkin Hunt Trail, Sunday 11 October to Sunday 1 November, 10am to 4pm on the museum’s open days, Wycombe Museum, HP13 6PX. Coloured pumpkins hidden around the museum and gardens, with a puzzle to solve and a sweet prize. £3.15 per child, recommended for ages three to 11. Book ahead or drop in; the museum is closed on Mondays and Saturdays. (Wycombe Museum)

Next week

  • Chair Discovery Centre Open Day, Tuesday 13 October, 10am to 4pm, Chair Discovery Centre, HP11 2HE. The museum’s chair store, holding hundreds of chairs that are not on show at Priory Avenue, opens on set days only. Free, in one-hour entry slots, last entry 3.30pm. The next open day is Sunday 22 November. (Wycombe Museum)
  • Twelve Angry Men, Tuesday 13 to Saturday 17 October, first performance 7.30pm, Wycombe Swan, HP11 2XE. The West End production of Reginald Rose’s courtroom thriller, in for five days. Tickets from £26.50. (Wycombe Swan)
  • SFX Halloween Makeup workshop, Thursday 15 October, 6pm to 8pm, Old Town Hall. Fake wounds and special effects makeup, taught by the Swan’s team in time for Halloween. £16. (Wycombe Swan)
  • Craft Café: Pumpkin Lanterns, Friday 16 October, 10.30am to 1.30pm, Old Town Hall. The Swan’s monthly craft morning, this time making pumpkin lanterns. Young children are welcome with an adult. £8. (Wycombe Swan)
  • Blackballed with Any Minute No, Saturday 17 October, doors 7pm, Wycombe Arts Centre, HP11 2PU. The hard rock trio led by ex-New Model Army guitarist Marshall Gill, with Swindon punk band Any Minute No. £6.50 plus booking fees. (Wycombe Arts Centre)
  • History on our High Street walking tour, Sunday 18 October, 10am to about 11.30am, Pann Mill. Museum volunteer Denise Lindsay leads a walk along the High Street, starting at Pann Mill and finishing at the museum. Free, donations welcome, book a place. (Wycombe Museum)

Later in October

  • Susan Calman: Tall Tales, Tuesday 20 October, 7.30pm, Wycombe Swan, HP11 2XE. The comedian’s first tour in ten years. Ages 14 and over, £35. (Wycombe Swan)
  • Boyzlife: Keith Duffy and Brian McFadden, Thursday 22 October, 7.30pm, Wycombe Swan, HP11 2XE. Boyzone’s Keith Duffy and Westlife’s Brian McFadden sing the hits of both bands. From £39. (Wycombe Swan)
  • Hi-Gain Live under 18s open mic, Friday 23 October, 7pm, Wycombe Arts Centre, HP11 2PU. An acoustic open mic for performers under 18. Listed as free; turn up, or book a slot by emailing hi-gain@busmusic.org. (Wycombe Arts Centre)
  • Nigel Havers, Saturday 24 October, 7.30pm, Wycombe Swan, HP11 2XE. The actor’s second tour of stories from five decades in showbusiness. From £42.75. (Wycombe Swan)
  • Hellfire Caves Fright Nights, Saturday 24 October, then Wednesday 28 to Saturday 31 October, gates 6pm, Hellfire Caves, West Wycombe, HP14 3AH. Live actors in the dark tunnels, for ages 16 and over. Last entry 8.45pm, or 9.45pm on Halloween. From £20, non-refundable. Park at the Chorley Road car park, HP14 3AP. (Hellfire Caves)
  • Odds Farm Park half term Pumpkin Festival, Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November, daily 10am to 5.30pm, last entry 4.30pm, Odds Farm Park, Wooburn Common, HP10 0LX. Pumpkin picking with one free small pumpkin per paying child, carving, the Monster Mash Bash show and bubble shows. The Pumpkin Family Night on the 24th is sold out. (Odds Farm Park)
  • Halloween Ghost Hunt, Sunday 25 October, timed slots between 2pm and 6pm, Wycombe Museum, HP13 6PX. Games and crafts in fancy dress, indoors and in the gardens, lasting about an hour. £7 per child, recommended for ages four to 11, adults free. (Wycombe Museum)
  • Sunday Jam, Sunday 25 October, 4pm to 7pm, Wycombe Arts Centre, HP11 2PU. An open jam for players of any standard, run by local performers and a sound engineer. (Wycombe Arts Centre)
  • Dog Man: The Musical, Monday 26 to Wednesday 28 October, first performance 6pm, Wycombe Swan, HP11 2XE. The half term family show, from the Dav Pilkey books. Tickets from £27. (Wycombe Swan)
  • Discover and Make: Nature’s Wind Chimes, Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 October, 45 minute sessions from 10.30am to 3.15pm, Wycombe Museum, HP13 6PX. The museum’s half term craft workshop, in the Stable Block. £4.50 per child, ages four to 11, booking essential. (Wycombe Museum)
  • Steeleye Span, Thursday 29 October, 7.30pm, Old Town Hall. The folk band play the Old Town Hall, not the main theatre. £34.50. (Wycombe Swan)
  • Autumn Steam Gala, Friday 30 October to Sunday 1 November, Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway. Guest engines include the GWR Saint class 2999 Lady of Legend and BR 9F 92134, with traction engines at Chinnor station. A 1-day rover is £27 for an adult and £12 for a child online, £32 and £17 on the day. Parking at Chinnor is limited. (Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway)
  • Micky Flanagan: Work In Progress, Friday 30 October, 7.30pm, Wycombe Swan, HP11 2XE. Sold out. Tickets are collected on the night, and the lead booker needs the payment card and photo ID. (Wycombe Swan)
  • Princes Risborough Halloween Trail, Saturday 31 October, Princes Risborough town centre. The town council has the date in its diary, still with the note that details are to be confirmed, so there is no time or route yet. (Princes Risborough Town Council)

Schools are off from 26 to 30 October. Our October half term page has the term dates and more ideas for the week.

November

  • Marlow Half Marathon, Sunday 1 November, 9.30am, Marlow High Street. Race day for the half marathon and its two shorter races. High Street, Pound Lane, West Street, Oxford Road, Chalkpit Lane and Penwood Road close from 9am to 1pm, with no buses. Our Marlow Half Marathon page has entry prices and the cut-off rule. (Marlow Half Marathon)
  • Ultimate Elton at the Brushwood Suite, Friday 6 November, 7.30pm to 11pm, Brushwood Suite, HP27 9AX. Paul Bacon’s Elton John tribute. Seated, over 18s only, £12 plus a £1.20 booking fee. (Princes Risborough Town Council)
  • Flackwell Heath Bonfire and Fireworks, Saturday 7 November, gates 5.30pm, field at the end of Chapel Road, HP10 9AB. The village bonfire, lit about 6.45pm, with two Illusion Fireworks displays. £11 in advance, £12.50 on the gate, family £40, under 5s free. No parking at the field. (Flackwell Heath Village Bonfire Association)
  • Marlow Bottom Fireworks Extravaganza, Saturday 7 November, gates 6pm to 8.30pm, Marlow Bottom Playing Fields, SL7 3PJ. Star Fireworks, with the display starting between 7pm and 8pm. Adults £10, children 4 to 12 £6, family £25 in advance; gate sales only if any are left. No dogs, no parking. (Marlow Bottom Fireworks)
  • Talk: Jessica Hayllar’s Rhododendrons, Sunday 8 November, 2pm to 3pm, Wycombe Museum, HP13 6PX. Cally Trench gives an illustrated talk on the Victorian painter Jessica Hayllar. Free, suggested donation £5. (Wycombe Museum)
  • Marlow Remembrance Parade and Service, Sunday 8 November, The Causeway. The town council has confirmed the date and says further details will follow, so there is no published time yet. Last year’s service was on The Causeway. (Marlow Town Council)
  • Princes Risborough Remembrance Sunday, Sunday 8 November, 9.30am to 11.30am, Market Square and St Mary’s Church, HP27 0AN. At the Market Square, HP27 0AN, and St Mary’s Church, Church Street, HP27 9AA. The order of events has not been published. (Princes Risborough Town Council)
  • Money For Nothing, Sunday 8 November, 7.30pm, Wycombe Swan, HP11 2XE. A Dire Straits tribute show. £38. (Wycombe Swan)
  • The Nutcracker, Imperial Classical Ballet, Friday 13 November, 7.30pm, Wycombe Swan, HP11 2XE. The Nutcracker, performed by the Imperial Classical Ballet. From £43.75. (Wycombe Swan)
  • Lino Print Workshop, Sunday 15 November, 12.30pm to 3pm, Wycombe Museum, HP13 6PX. An afternoon of lino printing in the Stable Block with the museum’s artist in residence, Jane Peacock; wear old clothes. £38, booking essential. (Wycombe Museum)
  • The Illegal Eagles: Hotel California Tour, Monday 16 November, 7.30pm, Wycombe Swan, HP11 2XE. The Eagles tribute band mark 30 years on the road by playing the Hotel California album in full, then the hits. £46.50. (Wycombe Swan)

Our bonfire night page tracks Naphill and Marlow Monster as they confirm. Our Remembrance Sunday page follows the services across the district. Christmas lights go on in Marlow on 19 November and Princes Risborough on 28 November: see our switch-on page. The nearest ice rinks open at Reading on 7 November and Windsor on 13 November; see our ice skating page. Looking further ahead, we have pages on the Christmas markets and on Peter Pan at the Wycombe Swan.

Regular events

  • High Wycombe Market, Every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, 8am to 4pm, High Street, HP11 2BN. The charter market on the High Street, which its operator says has traded for more than 700 years. (Saunders Markets)
  • Arts Café, Every Wednesday, 10am to 4pm, Wycombe Arts Centre, HP11 2PU. The arts centre’s weekly café day, when its exhibition is also open. The current one is Jan Gaska’s A Bridge Over Time. (Wycombe Arts Centre)
  • Wycombe Rye parkrun, Every Saturday, 9am, The Rye, HP11 1QX. A free, timed 5k on The Rye, off Bassetsbury Lane. Register once with parkrun before your first run and bring your barcode. (parkrun)

Wycombe Museum’s galleries open Tuesday to Friday and Sunday, 10am to 4pm, and are closed on Mondays and Saturdays (Wycombe Museum).

Getting there

The Swan, the Old Town Hall, the Chair Discovery Centre and the High Street market are within a few minutes’ walk of each other. The museum is a short walk north of the High Street, over the railway footbridges. One caution: the museum’s event pages still point drivers to Easton Street car park, which has closed and is being demolished. Our page on parking in High Wycombe has the car parks that are open and what they charge. For rail, see train times to London, and check roadworks and travel before a weekend trip.

This page is rewritten as organisers confirm new dates. Dates and prices can change, so use the links before you travel. More in our What’s On section.

Send us your event

Running something in High Wycombe, Marlow, Princes Risborough or the villages between? Email hello@wycombetoday.co.uk with the date, time, venue, price and a photo. Listings are free of charge, and yours goes on this page and in the diary on our What’s On hub.

Sources