Guildford Book Festival opens on 3 October, the 10k closes the High Street on the 18th, then Castle hauntings, Ripley's bonfire and the Lions fireworks.

The first big fortnight of the autumn in Guildford is a literary one. Guildford Book Festival runs from Saturday 3 to Sunday 18 October, with Victoria Hislop, Elif Shafak, Mary Portas, Sebastian Faulks and Alison Weir all in town, and Guildford Festival of the Arts fills the four days before it. On the last day of the book festival the Guildford 10k closes the High Street from 8am. Half term then brings hauntings at the Castle, Ripley’s bonfire on 31 October and the Lions’ fireworks in Stoke Park on 7 November.

Everything below comes from the organisers’ own listings, read on 28 September 2026, and each entry links back to its source so you can check it before you set off. The Yvonne Arnaud prices are the lowest published ticket; most shows have dearer seats and cheaper concessions.

This week

  • Twelve Angry Men, Tuesday 29 September to Saturday 3 October, 7.30pm, with 2.30pm matinees on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Millbrook, GU1 3UX. Limited advance tickets from £19, standard from £36, concessions from £13. The West End production of the jury-room drama; the Thursday matinee is captioned (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre).
  • Guildford Festival of the Arts, Thursday 1 to Sunday 4 October, at venues across the town centre. The festival’s second year, showcasing local artists (Guildford Festival of the Arts).
  • In Conversation With Gus Casely-Hayford, Friday 2 October, 1pm, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. £10, concessions £8. An hour with the curator and cultural historian, part of the arts festival (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre).
  • Schoolgirl Stitches: A hundred years of teaching needlework, Friday 2 October, 2pm to 4pm, Guildford Museum, Quarry Street, GU1 3SX. Free. An adult workshop on how needlework was taught to schoolgirls, with stitching inspired by the museum’s collection. Sold out; the council links a waiting list (Guildford Heritage).
  • State of the World Day, Saturday 3 October, 10.30am to 4.30pm, Guildford Baptist Church, Millmead, GU2 4BE. £49. A new day of talks that opens the book festival (Guildford Book Festival).
  • Drawing Music: Great Ladies of Jazz, Sunday 4 October, 2pm, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. £21, Guildford Jazz members £19. The Sarah Jane Eveleigh Quintet plays while the audience draws; bring a sketchbook and a pencil (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre).

Next week

  • Tristan & Yseult, Tuesday 6 to Saturday 10 October, 7.30pm (6.30pm on Friday), matinees Thursday and Saturday at 2.30pm, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. From £17.50. Emma Rice’s production returns to the UK for the first time in ten years; recommended for ages 8 and over (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre).
  • Rock Orchestra By Candlelight, Wednesday 7 October, G Live, London Road, GU1 2AA. From £37. Fourteen classical musicians play rock and metal anthems in the main auditorium; the start time is on the booking page (G Live).
  • Coffee Time Talk: Chilworth Gunpowder Mills, Thursday 8 October, 10.30am to 12pm (talk at 11am), Guildford Guildhall, High Street, GU1 3AA. Suggested donation £3, and pre-booking is required on 01483 444751. Colin Rumary on living on the Chilworth estate from 1955 to 1963, in the mills’ 400th year (Guildford Heritage).
  • Victoria Hislop and Elizabeth Buchan, Thursday 8 October, 7pm to 8pm, Guildford High School, London Road, GU1 1SJ. £18.50. Hislop on her novel The Wine-Dark Sea (Guildford Book Festival).
  • World Space Week Relaxed Workshop, Saturday 10 October, 10.30am to 4pm, Guildford House Gallery Garden Room, 155 High Street, GU1 3AJ. Free. For neurodiverse children and young people: LEGO spacecraft, indoor stargazing and a space den, hosted by the University of Surrey and the Institute of Physics (Guildford Heritage).
  • Zero3 Textiles Exhibition: Signature XIII, Saturday 10 to Saturday 31 October, Guildford House Gallery, during opening hours. Free. Work by the textile collective Zero3, in cloth, surface design and mixed media (Guildford Heritage).

Later in October

  • Transformations panel discussion, Monday 12 October, 6pm to 8pm, Guildford Cathedral, Stag Hill, GU2 7UP. £5, students and unwaged free. It accompanies the cathedral’s free Transformations art exhibition (Guildford Cathedral).
  • Elif Shafak and Stephanie Merritt, Tuesday 13 October, 7pm to 8pm, Guildford Baptist Church. £16. Shafak on In One Brief Moment All Eternity (Guildford Book Festival).
  • Swan Lake, Tuesday 13 October, 7.30pm, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. From £40. The ballet with a full live orchestra (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre).
  • Half-term hauntings at Guildford Castle, Wednesday 14 to Saturday 31 October, Wednesdays to Saturdays, 12pm to 4.30pm (last entry 4pm), Guildford Castle, Castle Street, GU1 3UW. Adults £5, children £2.50, family £12, under 5s free. The Keep dressed for Halloween, with a ghost hunt and storytelling, and the last chance to go in before it closes for winter (Guildford Heritage).
  • Spooktacular Trail, Wednesday 14 to Saturday 31 October, Guildford Museum, during opening hours. Free. Pick up a trail sheet and find the ghosts hiding round the museum; ages 4 and over, with an adult (Guildford Heritage).
  • Voices of Valjean, Wednesday 14 October, 7.30pm, Guildford Cathedral. An evening concert; tickets through the cathedral (Guildford Cathedral).
  • Mary Portas and Rosie Nixon, Thursday 15 October, 7.30pm to 8.30pm, Guildford College, Stoke Road, GU1 1EZ. £18.50 (Guildford Book Festival).
  • Sebastian Faulks and Patricia Nicol, Saturday 17 October, 6pm to 7pm, Guildford Baptist Church. £16. Faulks on Farewell to Eden (Guildford Book Festival).
  • An Evening with Sir Derek Jacobi and Richard Clifford, Saturday 17 October, 7.30pm, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. £39 (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre).
  • Guildford 5k, 10k and Juniors, Sunday 18 October, 8am (juniors 8.10am), starting and finishing on the High Street. Entries £12 to £38. The out-and-back route heads along the Epsom Road, and roads are closed until 12pm, so plan any Sunday-morning drive through town around it (RunThrough).
  • Alison Weir: The Boleyn Secret, Sunday 18 October, 6.30pm to 7.30pm, Guildford Guildhall. £18.50. The book festival’s final evening (Guildford Book Festival).
  • The Anastasia File, Tuesday 20 to Saturday 24 October, 7.30pm, matinees Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday at 2.30pm, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. Limited advance tickets from £24, standard from £36. Jenny Seagrove stars in a play inspired by the true story of Anne Manahan (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre).
  • Spring Bulb Planting, Friday 23 October, 12pm to 2pm, Guildford Museum. £2.50 per child, ages 5 and over, no booking (Guildford Heritage).
  • A Brew to a Kill, Saturday 24 October to Sunday 15 November, Hogs Back Brewery, Tongham, GU10 1DE. Guildford Shakespeare Company’s promenade murder mystery through the brewery (Guildford Shakespeare Company). Our preview has the performance pattern.
  • Tracy Borman: Tudors On Tour, Sunday 25 October, 7.30pm, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. £28.50, ages 12 and over (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre).
  • Creative Collages, Tuesday 27 October, 10am to 12pm, Guildford House Gallery. Free, donations welcome. A half-term craft session for ages 5 and over, no booking (Guildford Heritage).
  • Celtic Nights, Wednesday 28 October, 7.30pm, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. £32. With The MacDonald Brothers (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre).
  • The Selfish Giant, Thursday 29 October, 11am and 2pm, Guildford Cathedral. Children from £3, adults from £8, babes in arms free (Guildford Cathedral).
  • Spot’s Birthday Party, Thursday 29 to Saturday 31 October, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre: Thursday 2pm, Friday 10.30am and 2pm, Saturday 10.30am, 2pm and 4.30pm. Afternoon shows £20 adults, £16 children; morning shows £22 and £18. Fifty minutes, for ages 2 and over (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre).
  • Ripley Bonfire, Saturday 31 October, Ripley Green. The torchlit procession leaves the village hall at 7.10pm, the bonfire is lit at 7.30pm and the fireworks go up at 8pm (Ripley Bonfire). More in our fireworks guide.

November

  • Opera Boys, starring Paul Potts, Sunday 1 November, 7.30pm, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. From £40, concessions from £36. The group’s final tour (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre).
  • Arts and Makers Market, Sunday 1 November, High Street, trading 7am to 5.30pm on the council’s listing. Run by ACVR Events (Guildford Borough Council).
  • The Picture of Dorian Gray, Tuesday 3 to Saturday 7 November, 7.30pm, matinees Thursday and Saturday at 2.30pm, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. Advance tickets from £17.50, standard from £29, ages 12 and over (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre).
  • Guildford Lions Firework Festival, Saturday 7 November, Stoke Park. The park opens at 5pm, gates close at 8.15pm and the event ends at 9pm. Adults £17 from 1 October, £20 on the day, under 16s free with an adult (Guildford Lions Club). Parking and the full timings are in our fireworks guide.

Regular events

  • North Street Market, every Friday and Saturday, 8.30am to 5pm. Fruit and veg, fish, bread, cheese, flowers and hot street food. Three food stalls have moved down to the Rotunda at the end of Friary Street during the North Street works; days and times are unchanged (Guildford Borough Council).
  • Guildford Farmers’ Market, the first Tuesday of the month, 10am to 3pm on the High Street, with over 50 producers. The next dates are Tuesday 6 October and Tuesday 3 November (Guildford Borough Council).
  • Guildford parkrun, every Saturday at 9am in Stoke Park, opposite the Spectrum. Free; park in the Park and Ride car park at the Spectrum, GU1 1UP (Guildford parkrun).

For the rest of the season, see our pages on Remembrance Sunday, the Christmas markets, the Festive Family Fun Day, Illuminate at the Castle, RHS Wisley Glow and the pantomime. Driving in for any of the above, our parking guide has the car parks and evening charges.

Send us your event

Running something in Guildford or the villages? Email hello@guildfordpost.co.uk with the date, time, venue, price and a photo. Listings are free of charge; we add them to this page and to the diary on our What’s On section.

Sources