Cogges Manor Farm is undergoing a spooktacular transformation this half-term.

Now in its third year, The Witch’s House is firmly established as a Halloween highlight.

Families can explore a magical mystery tour and have fun solving a series of clues and challenges to graduate as a witch or wizard.

The Manor House will come to life with technical wizardry, lighting and interactive sound effects with bubbling potions, bats, spiders and even a cauldron on the fire.

Outside, you can spot the friendly ghosts hidden around the Walled Garden and enjoy the sight of the apple crops around the orchards and grounds.

There are also resident chickens and ducks, goats, ponies and sheep.

For grown up muggles who’d like to try a spell of potion-making, you can book a place on the herbal remedy workshop over the Halloween weekend.

You will learn about herbs and plants and how they can be used to treat ailments, discover what you can do with the wild food in your garden or hedgerow and make herbal tinctures to take home.

Cogges Manor Farm celebrates a significant milestone in 2021 after 10 years of being managed successfully as an independent charitable Trust.

With support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and other generous funders, new facilities have improved the experience for both visitors and volunteers.

The 13th century Manor House – which was the location of Downton Abbey’s ‘Yew Tree Farm’ – reopened to visitors in August, after significant refurbishment and the installation of new audio and visual storytelling.

Director Colin Shone said: “Cogges has a wonderfully rich history and we’ve been able to reveal some of these stories in exciting new ways as a result of new research uncovered by some of our volunteers. It is particularly pleasing to have opened the manor house again, now extensively refurbished and with improved disabled access."

Following reroofing of the Wheat Barn, weddings are also back after the lockdowns and taking bookings up to leap year 2024.

There is also a programme of adult learning workshops, ranging from weaving to growing your own veg and chicken keeping – plus a landscape trainee programme for young people aged 17-24 supported by the Witney Educational Foundation and the Radcliffe Trust, which is helping to pass on heritage skills such as coppicing willow, dry stone walling and making charcoal.

The house will temporarily close from the 18-22 October as the witches prepare for Halloween.

The Witch’s House is open from Saturday 23 - Sunday 31 October. Ticket includes entry to the farm for the day. www.cogges.org.uk