I awoke Sunday morning, myself confused as to the time (we changed clocks in the UK Sunday) and the weather confused as to weather it was going to rain or be pleasant. Once I got the lazy boy out of bed, we decided to drive to Ravenglass and visit Muncaster Castle. We invited one of our American friends Jen and her son Tom to come with as her husband Fred was in London with a bunch of other EB guys watching the Patriots play.
Ravenglass is located about 50 minutes north west from Ulverston on the Irish Sea. It was once the second largest Roman Encampment in England (the first being Chester, where Kevin and I visited on my first trip out).
Muncaster Castle sits up on 77 acres of land overlooking both the Esk River and the Irish Sea. It has been in the Pennington family since 1208 when it was granted to Frenchman Alain de Penitone. While the castle has changed greatly over time, t he original 14th century pele tower has been incorporated into the castle, along with the Great Hall.
For me, the best part about the tour of the castle was the audio tour. I normally avoid audio tours like the plague as they have the tendency to make people wander around in their own world, bumping into other and standing right in the middle of the flow of traffic. However, the audio tour was practically shoved in my hands and I decided to give it a try. After Lord Pennington talked for less than 2 minutes, I was glad I did. The Pennington family narrated the tour with the daughter and Lady Pennington telling useful information about the architecture, furniture, etc and Lord Pennington interjecting with funny stories about family members. He referred to one family member as “The Drip” and whenever telling a story, would first preface it with “a good relative” or “a bad relative”.
Muncaster Castle is full of history that excited the history nerd in me. In the late 16th century, a court jester named Tom Skelton lived at Muncaster Castle. Legend has it that he would sit under the large tree outside the castle. When people asked him for directions, he would size up the person and if he liked them, give them proper directions. However, if he decided he didn’t like a person, he would give them bad directions that lead across quicksand. Some people would realize in time, but others did not. One such person is said to haunt the castle. While I find Tom Skelton’s mischief hilarious (there’s plenty of people I would like to send into quicksand) it’s especially interesting as this led to the expression “Tom Foolery”.
Tom Fool’s Tree
The future Henry VI took refuge in Muncaster Castle after the Battle of Hexham (part of the Wars of the Roses during the Reign of Edward IV). When he left, he left behind a small glass drinking bowl referred to as the “Luck of Muncaster”, stating that as long as the bowl remained in tact, the Pennington family would prosper. It appears to have worked as the family has held the castle for 800 years. The Penningtons also believe the legend as they keep the bowl locked in the safe, and untouched.
Located on the grounds is an extensive Owlry straight out of Harry Potter, housing a large number of different types of Owls. Gross fact of the day – apparently owls are fed dead baby chickens, because they all had piles of them in their cages.
“Well, What do you want???”
Hedwig! Bashful owl
Kevin wanted me to show people how big the leaves were
Camera back in hand, I took a few more shots before we headed home. I’d love to come back sometime in the spring/summer when everything is blooming, because I imagine the gardens are beautiful.
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