Tickets are now on sale for this year's Chalke History Festival.
The 2026 event, sponsored by Evelyn Partners, will take place from June 22 to June 28, with more than ever for festival-goers to enjoy.
With a line-up featuring top historians, household names and expert commentators, the festival will offer a range of insights into both historical events and current world affairs.
This year's programme is more varied than ever, with talks, discussions, debates, immersive experiences, theatrical performances, hands-on activities and live music.
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Festival-goers can expect to see a host of VIPs, including, for the first time, Mary Beard and her son Raphael Cormack, who will discuss how historians make sense of lives that can seem strange or distant to modern eyes.
James Naughtie, Sarah Churchwell, Nicholas Guyatt and Anne Applebaum will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence with two events on the Monday evening.
Anthony Scaramucci, whose 2025 visit drew record crowds, will discuss the road to war in the 1920s and 30s with James Holland.
Antony Beevor will delve into the life of Rasputin, while Harriet Walter will speak about women, visibility and aging in the arts through history.
Alan Titchmarsh will share gardening tips ahead of the 100th anniversary of the National Garden Scheme in 2027, and Al Murray will return as The Pub Landlord with new material.
The festival will also feature BAFTA-winning playwright David Hare, who will participate in the inaugural ‘Tom Stoppard Conversation’ in honour of the playwright and screenwriter who died in 2025.
This new annual ‘Conversation’ will celebrate the history of theatre, with Hare sharing insights from his 50-year friendship with Stoppard.
Other activities at the festival include the reconstruction of a late Iron Age Romano-British chariot, Abs Wisdom’s Wizzo’s Rip-Roaring History old-time circus sideshow, and the Castle Hill Heritage Skills group.
Children can enjoy puppetry, storytelling, historic garden games and interactive workshops.
The 2026 programme also includes talks on a wide range of topics, from the cultural influence of Marie Antoinette by Alexander Armstrong to the German Peasants’ revolt with Lyndal Roper and Afua Hirsch.
The Chalke History Festival for Schools will run from Monday, June 22, to Wednesday, June 24, with the Wednesday dedicated to SEND students.
The festival will take place at Church Bottom, Broad Chalke, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP5 5DP.
For more details, visit the festival's website: chalkefestival.com.
