*************
Garden Owners,
Please copy this information and paste it into an email to:   wb [at] armchair-travel [dot] com

Please make any changes in BRIGHT RED in your email back to us.

Regards,
Armchair Travel Co Ltd
http://www.armchair-travel.com
*************



Garden Name: Muncaster Castle
Last Modified: 01/02/2010
Garden ID: 0143

pic: 0143_muncaster.jpg

Owner: Mr and Mrs Gordon-Duff-Pennington
Address:
Ravenglass


Postcode: CA18 1RQ
County: Cumbria

tel: 01229 717614
fax: 01229 717614
website: www.muncaster.co.uk
email: info {at} muncaster.co.uk

Features: 
Winner of the Large Visitor Attraction of the Year Award 2006

English Heritage Grade:
II*

Opening Times:
1st Feb - 20th Mar; 11am - 4pm, or dusk if earlier
21st Mar - 31st Dec; daily; 11am - 6pm
Heron Happy Hour daily at 4.30pm
Darkest Muncaster dusk - 8pm (last entry 8pm): Sats in Feb - 13,14,17,19,20 February

Best Times of Year to Visit: 
April, May and June

To see: 
Rhododendrons

National Collection: 


National Garden Scheme days: No
Comments: 

Parties / Coaches: Yes 
Comments: Pre booking required

Viewing by Appointment: Yes
Comments:  

House Open for Viewing: Yes
Comments: 14 Feb - 21st Feb Sunday - Friday
21st - 31st; Sun - Fri; 12noon - 4.30pm
21st & 28th November, every Sunday and 27th,28th & 29th Dec for Victorian Tours

Admission Prices:
Adult, gardens, Owl Centre & Maze, £8.50, Castle upgrade £2.50; Illuminations £6
Child (5-15) £6: Castle upgrade £1.50; Illuminations £3.50
Family(2+2) £26 Gardens; Castle upgrade £4; Illuminations £19
Children under 5s Free
Group discounts. Season tickets available

Parking: Yes
Lavatories: Yes
Disabled Access: Yes
Shop: Yes
Plants for Sale: Yes
Lunches: Yes
Teas: Yes
Refreshments: Yes
Picnics: Yes
Dogs allowed: Yes
Only on Lead: Yes
Events: Yes

Other Facilities:
"Meet the Birds" daily at 2.30pm
"Heron Happy Hour" 4.30pm
"Feast of Flowers" 30th April - 3rd May
"Festival of Fools" 30th May - 3rd June
"Halloween" 24th - 31st October


Designer: 
Description of Garden:
Set in the dramatic grandeur of the lakeland Fells, the wild, woodland gardens are home to an incredible collection of rare and beautiful plants. Miles of paths wind through this extraordinary scenery, which also provides cover for a varied wildlife population. Many of the plants in the gardens are now highly endangered in their native habitats. Thousands of specimens, particularly from China and the Far East, have been grown from seed collected on recent expeditions around the turn of the third Millennium. British plants too flourish in abundance, and the bluebells in the high woods should not be missed in late April and early May.

No matter what time of year you visit, there is always something in flower and new discoveries to be made. And the highlight: the view from the Castle and Terrace is truly the 'Gateway to Paradise' as described by John Ruskin, the 19th century father of the conservation movement.

The gardens are especially colourful during May and June when the Rhododendrons are in full bloom.


History: 
In the 1780's John, Lord Muncaster, planted several thousand hardwood trees, beech, chestnut, elm and oak thoughout the estate. Many of these trees remain and provide the framework for the gardens and protection from the wild.
Rhododendrons were first planted around 1840. A decade later Joseph Hooker started collecting rhododendrons in Sikkim and started a passion for these plants that lasts to this day.
Sir John Ramsden inherited Muncaster in 1917 and soon realised that the gardens provided one of the best sites in the country for growing what was to become a 'flood' of new species. Together with Lionel de Rothschild and others, he helped finance expeditions to South West China and Tibet. George Forrest and Frank Kingdom-Ward made many separate journeys into the remote mountains and made thousands of plant and seed collections. They were followed by Ludlow and Sherriff and the American Joseph Rock. Their collections, which included many dwarf species now available to gardeners today, would be much the poorer without these hard won introductions.

Local Inns: 


Accomodation: 
Coachman's Quarters B&B, Muncaster Castle Gardens.
Pennington Hotel, Ravenglass

Restaurants: 
Pennington Hotel, Ravenglass

Village/Town/Sightseeing: 
Ravenglass