Originally built in the Middle Ages and inhabited by successive generations of the Pennington family for 800 years, Muncaster Castle and Gardens have seen happy and hard times during its long history.

It was almost a complete ruin when John Pennington inherited the estate in the eighteenth century. Arriving to take up residence after his marriage in 1778, he discovered that his father’s claims that it would be perfectly habitable were not entirely accurate: the timbers were rotten and rain crashed through the roof.

While things were nowhere near as bad 200 years later, there was no concealing that the Muncaster of the 1990s was struggling as a tourist attraction, its roof collapsing, its buildings dilapidated and its gardens run to seed.

But with the help of the Millennium Commission, the castle has been transformed into one of the finest tourist attractions in the Lake District.

• In spring 2009 the Independent newspaper named Muncaster Castle Best Day Out
• The Castle and Gardens now attract 80,000 visitors a year