The hugely anticipated history festival set to return this summer has announced tickets will go on sale April 25 . 

The Daily Mail Chalke Valley History Festival, which began in 2011, is an annual event in the last week of June with over 200 talks and panel discussions in five tents, with the largest, the main tent, able to seat 750 people. 

New to this year is the Stove tent, a cosy 100-seater with a central wood-burning stove said to be good for late-night events such as live music and also an entire themed programme to help visitors find talks and events they are interested in more easily.

These themes are Environment, Conflict, Politics, Science and Exploration, Sport, Society and Culture.

James Holland, Chair of the festival said: “This is a more integrated programme than ever before and one that reflects the extraordinary times in which we’re living.

“We want everyone who comes here to have a brilliant time and to enjoy themselves because there’s such an incredible range of things to see and do. But we also hope they’ll be able to learn a great deal as well, and that our events will help people to contextualise what’s happening in the world right now.”

Among the long list of talks, notable speakers at the event are Ian Hislop, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Kate Mosse and former Prime Minister John Major who will be talking about politics, both past and present. 

Also returning is the Chalke Valley History Festival for Schools which will take place on June 26 and 27, featuring a wide range of curriculum-based subjects, delivered by some of the UK’s best historians. This includes Tracy Borman, Jeremy Jennings and Hallie Rubenhold.

Starting on June 26 and ending on July 2, it is expected that tickets will sell fast and so the festival is encouraging people to snap them up as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. 

Day ticket prices range from £14 to £27.50 for adults and for children aged 5-15 £7 to £13.75 with under five’s free. Talks range from £4.50 to £7.50 and experiences from £11.50 to £15. 

The festival will take place at Church Bottom, Broad Chalke, Salisbury, and tickets can be purchased here.