The Chalke History Festival 2026
- Sarah
- Mar 3
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 23
Set in the heart of the beautiful Wiltshire countryside, the Chalke History Festival has opened its gates once more to another fascinating week of living history, speakers, plays, films, re-enactments and music for the thousands of school children and visitors who will flock to this usually peaceful valley for the UK's largest history festival.
After a full day of events for primary school children, the Chalke History Festival opened to the public yesterday evening in its usual dramatic fashion with two powerful and charismatic speakers taking the stage. James Holland and Antony Scaramucci (the Mooch) took “The Road to War” as their topic and delivered a comprehensive and convincing explanation of the many factors that led to war in 1939, with a strong focus on the unregulated economic boom in the United States in the 1920s, the damage caused by the Wall Street Crash in 1929 and President Hoover’s imposition of tariffs by the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of May 1930.
The results for Weimar Germany, dependent on American loans, was catastrophic and led directly to the Nazi dictatorship and the outbreak of war. Throughout the talk the parallels to today were glaringly obvious as the world once again considers the possible disastrous effects of division, the rise of populism and the advance of authoritarian rule, particularly in Russia and the USA. The point was clear - the democracies must learn the lessons of the past and act now to prevent another cataclysmic war. It was a sobering conclusion and, as the cows and sheep grazed placidly on the hills above the marquee, the audience must surely have taken the message home with them.
The evening also saw the return of Colin Bell, 105, Mosquito pilot, giving a first hand account entitled “Bloody Dangerous” of his wartime experiences in his “wooden wonder”. His talk was delivered with humour, understatement and great modesty. He is a remarkable man - a description of his activities during his birthday week included many public appearances, driving around in his Mazda 3, flying the length of the country and several trips to the RAF bar In London for champagne receptions.
Tracy Borman was the other big name for the night and despite the intense heat of the evening, both the marquee and the overflow seating were full as she gave a lively and illustrated talk on the House of Boleyn.
Tuesday sees a full day for 3,000 secondary school pupils, before the festival opens for the rest of the week to the public at 4.15pm. There are a few new features for this year's festival, such as the Chalke Cinema which will provide constant entertainment of films, plays and talks from previous years. The site seems to be more clearly demarked into historical sections and there are now signposts pointing the way round, suitably historical in style. The helter-skelter has been replaced by a Merry-go-round and a dinosaur seems to have joined the party, but the firm favourites are still in place, with the Chalke Valley Tap doing a roaring evening trade, the fine dining and quality food vans in situ and presiding over it all, the giant white letters CHALKE.
There is a fantastic line up for the week ahead. Although the forecast is a hot one, there is plenty to mitigate the heat, with free water points, ice cream vans, covered picnic areas where you can listen to the talks without having to be in the main tents, and a gentle breeze flitting through the valley. Bring sun cream and a hat and be prepared to have an amazing week of history and fun in the Chalke Valley.
The Chalke History Festival takes place at Church Bottom, Broad Chalke, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP5 5DP. For more details about the festival, please visit their website at www.chalkefestival.com
