Whitehaven -- Muncaster Castle (Part 2 of 2)

 Less than an hour's drive from where we docked, was Muncaster Castle, that had been lived in by the same family for 900 years, and the current family members were among the dignitaries that greeted us when we arrived. They used to be (lords? barons?) but the title was lost when an ancestor died without children and the castle and lands passed to the nearest relative (I don't understand the English peerage system, but that's the gist of it). They could have remained isolated in that spectacular location, but whether from a sense of civic duty or financial necessity, they've opened parts of the castle and grounds to the public, and invited our crew to come visit on our days off. The captain and senior staff went for the day and had lunch with the family; we weren't quite that lucky, but lucky enough. We split the cost for a taxi with another crew member who also had the day off, and after a somewhat hair-raising ride through the hills we arrived.

First sight of the castle in its spectacular Lake Country setting. Though the castle itself is "only" about 1000 years old, it is said to be built on the site of much older Roman ruins.

The mountain views made me homesick for Colorado

Wooded path through the grounds

The castle interior tour took us through many memorable halls and rooms, some said to be haunted, but all containing many interesting stories. There are medals and tapestries, and also an ancient glass bowl, that was given to the family in gratitude by a medieval king for some service they rendered. As long as the bowl remains unbroken, the charm says, the family will have good luck. You can still see the bowl, still intact, though now safely secured in a display case. 

On the grounds is a medieval weapons hall, where you can learn axe-throwing, crossbow, and long bow.

Staff member trained us individually on the correct stance

I was able to do pretty well, I'd say.

They also had a wild bird center for both education and rehab. They demonstrated free-flying owls and we learned a lot about these birds. People in the weapons hall weren't allowed to throw axes during bird demonstrations, because the bang of axes hitting (or missing) the targets could startle the birds. It wasn't all that close; so that indicates how sensitive their hearing must be.

The rangers had the birds fly across the audience right over our heads, close enough to ruffle our hair.

They flew five different species of owls that afternoon; and the rangers developed personal relationships with each of them. 

We walked about 2 km down the hill into town to catch a train back to the ship. If we'd had more time we could also have taken a small-gauge steam train deeper into the lake country, but we'd have to save that for another visit. The town had the impossibly Harry-Potter-ish name of "Ravenglass."