The ChalkEscape Walking Festival takes place on Cranborne Chase among the stunning heritage landscape with wonderful open vistas and woodland, criss-crossed by ancient ways and miles of footpaths and bridleways.
Project aims
• To encourage people to access the Chalke & Chase Landscape area.
• To raise awareness of the area’s natural, historic and cultural heritage.
• To bring different groups and communities to the area.
The ChalkEscape Walking Festival 2025 – Friday 30 May to Sunday 8 June.
This year, we have another full programme of FREE activities and events for all ages and abilities.
Family-friendly events include a family art session, a story adventure walk and a treasure hunt. Plus we have a range of scenic guided walks including a bat walk, poetry walk and a ladies-only pub walk.
The Festival will culminate on Sunday 8 June with the ChalkEscape Pizza & Picnic on the Park. Enjoy walks, storytelling performances, kite making, wildflower seed bomb making and much more! Worked up an appetite? Then enjoy freshly cooked pizza from Big Bang Pizza – and it’s on the house!
Full programme
Book now
Project achievements
The Festival has taken place each year since 2020, including during the Covid pandemic where appropriate measures were in place.
We encouraged participants from a wide demographic, leading to an increased sense of connection with the landscape. We also borrowed an accessible trailer to help those with mobility concerns get out and about.
We were joined by archaeologists, rangers, bat ecologists and navigation specialists to support the delivery of the Festival.
Activities have included:
- a range of walks, with varying levels of difficulties
- walks that explored the historic and natural landscape
- sketching walks
74 walking events
1,001 participants
67 volunteers, giving over 846 hours of their time
32 local walks leaders
Get involved
If you would like to help design new walks and create new routes for future ChalkEscape Walking Festivals, if you have a favourite walk you are willing to share, or if you would like to join our Route Checkers Team to check and report back on one of our existing routes, please get in touch with us at chaseandchalke@cranbornechase.org.uk.