Drive it Day with Muncaster Castle Guided tour and Afternoon Tea

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The Castle, nestled in Cumbria, is believed to be standing on Roman remains and is a fine example of one of the Lake District and Cumbria’s favourite historic houses and is dubbed “one of Britain’s most haunted castles.”

This tour day coincides with the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) National Drive it Day so you could dress up in the year of your car if you wished to. That would make some good photos of the day if the weather was to be kind to us. If you wish you can also purchase an FBHVC car plaque to display – monies for this go to NSPCC Childline and it can be bought by navigating to the website www.driveitday.co.uk/shop.

Discover the captivating charm of Muncaster Castle, a historic gem nestled on the stunning Lake District coast where mountains meet the sea. The Pennington family have recorded evidence of this historic house as being their home since 1208. Muncaster is still cherished by the Pennington family who warmly welcome visitors to explore their ancient home and gardens. Built upon and renovated through various eras, the castle’s current form was designed by renowned architect Anthony Salvin in the 1800s for the fourth Lord Muncaster.

For this tour, the Club is being offered displays of flying Hawks and Owls in their birds of prey centre as well as the private guided tour of the castle and an afternoon tea in the castle Billiards room. After all that there is time to explore the extensive gardens and woodland before leaving for home on your own timescale.

The Club is being permitted to enter the grounds by a special entrance which will give us access to the “Cannon Bank” a flat area in front of the castle with cannons overlooking spectacular views of the valley. Here we will be allowed to park our cars which will give us some spectacular photo opportunities. This is a special privilege to be able to park up here.

To access the special entrance area for this visit, and if your driving south on the A595, go past the main public entrance by about half a mile to what is called the Church Entrance, which will be on your right, and signed. Set you sat-nav for CA18 1RQ. Arrive at the special entrance area via the Church entrance between 10.45am and 11.00am. After entering the Church Entrance and driving a short distance down the lane you will be met by a member of the Muncaster team who will raise a barrier and direct you to the Cannon Bank where you can park in front of the castle near and take in the breath-taking views across the valley.

When we are all assembled the itinerary can begin – and the castle staff have proposed the following itinerary:-

11.30am Visit the world of Owls flying display in the Hawk and Owl centre (weather dependent)

12 noon Start our guided tour of the castle.

Around 1’ish Sit down and enjoy an Afternoon Tea in the Billiards Room.

2pm (weather dependent) witness the Hawk and Eagle flying displays – or you can continue in the billiards room or further explore the castle.

2.30pm explore the gardens at your own pace before returning to your car and leaving for home.

The price of the tour with tour guide, an afternoon tea, Hawk and Owl displays, and Gardens access is £43 per person.

Please select the number of people you want tickets for and hit the BOOK NOW button on this events page. You will be direct to the clubs payments page and be asked for card details to enable payment to be taken. The club will then settle the final invoice on our behalf later on. If your total booking involves more than one car arriving can you please let me know so that I can inform the staff of the total number of cars that will be turning up.

Event details

Time of event
11:00am to 3:00pm

Date(s) of event
27 April 2025 to 27 April 2025

Location
Postcode: CA18 1RQ

Accessibility information

Parking is all on hard standing and level ground. The Castle tour requires negotiating stairs in a few locations. The afternoon tea is served on the first floor Billiard room. Toilet facilities are available. The grounds are extensive and require a lot of walking to get around but is mostly on the level and well paved. Dogs are allowed on a lead around the grounds of castle but are not permitted in the castle.