Beatles, Bach & Brunel: History festival returns

A popular history festival has announced this year's line-up, with a wide range of famous names set to appear.

Broadcaster Dan Cruickshank, social‑media historian Alice Loxton and author Ben Macintyre are among those set to attend Cirencester History Festival in Gloucestershire.

Festival director Jess Yarrow said bringing in a diverse range of speakers was "a huge priority" and she described the programme as having "everything from The Beatles to Bach and Brunel".

The festival runs from 23 October to 1 November and will include talks, historical cooking lessons, crafting, film screenings and workshops.

Yarrow said the festival had become "a really big community event."

She said: "We've got this amazing sense of momentum, with the whole town behind us, this sort of palpable electricity in the air."

Yarrow said the festival would benefit local businesses in the town.

"The coffee shops are full, the hotels and restaurants are buzzing... even the fruit and veg shop always has its busiest half‑term during the festival," she said.

The festival will include a film‑release screening of The Possession of Button House, a new adaptation of the BBC TV programme Ghosts.

"I think a lot of people who don't necessarily think of themselves as historians will be really up for coming along to that," Yarrow said.

There will also be activities for children, including a celebration of 100 years of Winnie‑the‑Pooh and a Young Archaeologists' Club session.

Tickets, priced between £12.50 and £15, will be available at a £5 rate for under‑22s to encourage a younger audience.

Tickets will go on sale on 4 September.

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