Muncaster castle is taking steps to be as environmentally friendly as it can be, with plans for the installation of solar panels and even the creation of a bug palace.

An application has been submitted to Copeland council to install solar panels on the Meadow Vale Maze, which used to be the old bear pit in the 1970s.

Peter Frost-Pennington said: “At Muncaster we are passionate about the environment and protecting it for future generations of visitors to enjoy. Climate change is a huge issue for everyone. It has therefore been an aspiration of ours to reduce our use of fossil fuels in operating Muncaster with an aim to become carbon neutral if at all possible.”

In 2019 they installed a ground source heat pump to warm the main core of the castle. They need electricity to generate this and would like to be able to generate the electricity themselves.

Peter said: “The castle is gently warm throughout the winter which is much better for the historic contents as well as for our staff! However, the heat pump still uses one unit of electricity for every three units of heat produced. We buy this from a sustainable supplier but even better if we can generate the electricity itself. We are also busiest as a business when the sun is shining as that is when most visitors visit. At peak visitor demand we have peak electricity requirements in the café and elsewhere on site including the castle. Once the solar panels are installed if we do produce any surplus electricity this can be supplied to the National Grid. We also hope to install electric vehicle charge points for the use of guests in our carparks to encourage visitors to arrive in an environmentally friendly way if at all possible, although this will be a future add on if our current planning application is successful.”

“The current planning application is to install an array of solar panels on the flat roof of the MeadowVole Maze at some distance from the castle. The array will be masked by trees and face south west so will be quite hard to see. We are trying to balance as best we can fitting new technology into an historic environment but this has happened through the ages at Muncaster anyway; this is a living landscape looking to the future as well as honouring the past. We believe we need to do whatever we can to protect the environment and nurture the planet and hopefully be a good example for others to follow.

“Our eldest son Ewan is an energy consultant and has been instrumental in driving these aspirations forward. The investment will take a long time to payback but will have instant benefits for the environment and ultimately will make Muncaster more sustainable in the long run.”

Muncaster was able to reopen the gardens in March and the Hawk and Owl Centre on April 12.

Peter added: “During the winter the opportunity has been taken to significantly improve the facilities at Muncaster including resurfacing many paths and installing ‘Bugingham Palace, a fabulous bug hotel to encourage more insects to thrive at Muncaster. Light catering and refreshments are available and there is plenty of space for social distancing yet having fun. The gardens are always at their best in springtime and the bluebells are starting to bloom.”

The castle will be able to reopen and flying shows recommence with the next easing of lockdown in May, for full details of Muncaster’s reopening go to www.muncaster.co.uk