Lowther Castle.

Clickychick has a stand displaying her work at the Garden Fair at Lowther Castle.  The fair marks the start of the summers season for the castle.  So after lunch we went to the studio and laoded the car, them it seemed sensible to "suss out"  the event site so we went to the castle and there were the "pop-ups" (canvas gazebos)  ready erected.  We went into the shop to have a quick word only to be told that because of the weather forecast the stand would be inside.  Actually in the old lose boxes from the days of horse and carriage.

Great we had every thing in the car down into the hanicapped drop off area and I ferried everything in.  I returned the car to the car park and took some shots on the way back down to help with the stand.

The castle is the third building belonging to the Lowther family on the site over the last 800 years.  It was the first commision for Robert Smirke completed in 1806.  It came to be in a derilict condition because  the 7th Earl gutted the building and removed the roof in 1957 to reduce a £25,000,000 death duty.  This did at least preserve the main building albeit as a shell.

The gardens which had been remodeled by Capability Brown were lost into the forestry planted during the war when the estate was used for secret tank testing.  This millennium they were rediscovered/remembered and are slowly being restored along with the castle remains.  They are becoming quite a tourist attraction.