THIS year’s Chalke Valley History Festival returns with a blend of talks, discussions and topical debates alongside a vast living history through-the-ages encampment and spectacular air displays.

The event runs from Monday, June 25 to Sunday, July 1.

This summer there will be the new Live History Live programme – a series of some 50 events at the weekend.

Free for all those already attending the festival, each event will be presented by a leading historian who will be adding context to the specialist knowledge offered by expert living historians, who will be demonstrating a wide and fascinating range of activities, from historic cookery to surgery, using techniques and materials from the past.

Amongst those already signed up to front these exciting Live History Live events, as well as participating in the main literary programme, are: Ben Kane, Dan Jones, Alex Langlands, and Helen Castor.

Also new for 2018, the festival will be celebrating its Chalke Valley History Heroes. There will be a series of talks about the antiquarian and historian, John Aubrey, photographer and designer Cecil Beaton, authors Terry Pratchett and William Golding, artist Henry Lamb and former Prime Minister Anthony Eden.

There will be a recreation of Terry Pratchett’s extraordinary writing office in a new special exhibition called The Shed of Doom and, on the Sunday morning, courtesy of the Discworld Conjuror’s Guild, the Festival will be welcoming the fabulous and award-winning Time-Travelling Magicians Morgan & West.

There will be a distinguished line-up of historians and commentators speaking at the festival including Simon Schama, Robert Peston, Tracy Borman, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Michael Dobbs, Fiona Carnarvon, Rana Mitter, Kate Mosse, Tony Robinson, Nicholas Coleridge, Robin Hanbury-Tenison, Sarah Churchwell, Gordon Corera and Charles Spencer.

Flying in to talk about Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of Imagination will be acclaimed Harvard Academic Professor Annette Gordon-Reed, and delivering the first ‘CVHF Directors’ Lecture’ will be Professor Ali Ansari from St Andrew’s University.

2018 marks the centenaries of women being granted the vote and the end of the First World War, and the festival will be commemorating both of these historic events.

It is also a 100 years since the birth of the RAF and, not only will the festival be hosting a special morning on the subject, but there will also be a number of static displays, including a Spitfire with a Merlin engine that will roar into life.

The Forties Fever Party on the Saturday evening, including period live music and a firework display for the first time, will be open to everyone and free of charge to all those already at the festival.

Visitors to the festival on the Saturday are encouraged to dress up, whether it be in pinstripes or polka dots, fancy frocks or fedoras, and there will be activities for all the family throughout the weekend.

The Daily Mail Chalke Valley History Festival team is also delighted to announce that Trevor Dolby and Paul Horsley have joined as Non-Executive Directors.

For more go to cvhf.org.uk