Via the Hawk and Owl Centre and also through the wider Estate’s management program, Muncaster is active in conservation locally, nationally and internationally and works to promote awareness of environmental issues with visitors and the local community.

Within the Castle gardens we provide opportunities to the public to come close to beautiful and endangered birds and to better understand their contribution to the balance of our ecocultures and the threats which they face to survive. We’re particularly interested in vulture conservation and you can find out more at the centre and our displays as well as on our Muncaster Vultures page.

We provide a natural environment with varied habitats covering wild woodland, wildflower meadows and unmown grassland, ponds and streams supporting a wide range of native wildlife as well as native and exotic plant species, many now rare in their original homes. Visitors are encouraged to explore the extensive grounds and to enjoy their diversity. We welcome visits by schools and youth groups wishing to use our resources to work towards national curricular links.

The gardens and the wider Estate are managed sustainably and efforts are ongoing to clear and limit invasive species and to plant and replant to promote biodiversity and preserve habitat. The Estate includes a number of SSSIs as well as important habitats for rare plants and animals.

Amongst other initiatives, the Estate and its volunteers work actively with other groups to support the local red squirrel population which, though famously shy, can occasionally be spotted in the gardens and in the local area.

A totally unexpected conservation project taken on by Iona and Peter Frost Pennington!
How exciting is this? Following her having been spotted with a fawn during the winter, here’s Twiggy our orphan roe deer with apparently TWO fawns, a hind and a buck, grazing in Muncaster’s gardens. How fantastic, three years on from the tragedy of her mother’s death in a road accident and her birth by Caesarian section, plus all the trauma faced by Peter and Iona Frost Pennington of trying to raise a wild creature without domesticating her. Evidently they did a great job and we’re delighted to see that despite being hand-raised by humans, she’s living independently, found a wild mate and is raising her own kids on the Muncaster estate.

Here at Muncaster, we grow seasonal fruit and vegetables in our greenhouses, vegetable patch and walled garden. This fresh, locally sourced produce is used in the Castle, The Stables Café and Pennington Hotels kitchens.

Bugingham palace and its surrounding wildflowers, provides a sanctuary for many pollinating insects. Brightening up the gable end of the Eco Barn, Bugingham Place is at it’s best in the summer months when visitors can delight at the bees and butterflies that visit the vibrant display of wildflowers.

At Muncaster we take pride in wildlife conservation and aim to promote biodiversity across the gardens and wider estate. Muncaster Eco Barn offers visitors the opportunity to see what is going on here at Muncaster and the wonderful nature and wildlife that surrounds us. From harvesting wildflower seeds, to providing sanctuaries for bees, pond creatures, bats and birds the Eco Barn showcases an ever-changing exhibition of what we can all do to help wildlife and the environment.

Muncaster’s bird hide is a tranquil hide away where you can spend a quiet moment, or even several hours, enjoying the sounds of nature and observing the profusion of birds that visit the feeders. Many birds that visit the Muncaster gardens are rung with a metal ring on their leg that displays a unique number, we carry this out as part of our research into the survival, productivity and movement of certain species.

Research carried out by Barbara Francik, an Oxford undergraduate in 2021, concluded that Muncaster is home to 20 patches of a rare, native plant called Touch-me-not-Balsam. This plant is the sole foodplant to the netted carpet moth larvae and so is vital for the survival of the netted carpet moth. Muncaster is working hard to identify and preserve fragile habitats such as these to play our part in conserving endangered species such as the netted carpet moth. More information about this work can be found in the Eco Barn.

In 2019 a ground source heat pump was installed in the castle, providing low carbon energy as well as benefitting the historic building itself. Heat pumps replicate the traditional form of heating old buildings, as they perform best when operated constantly during cold periods to provide background heat. We have already seen the benefits of this at Muncaster, as the humidity in grand rooms has decreased and the chattels are no longer exposed to large temperature fluctuations.

Solar panels were installed on the roof of the Meadowvole Maze in 2021 and are already making a difference. The aim is to make the entire complex carbon neutral. To date the solar panels are running the electrics for the castle but we are hoping to get this extended to the rest of the grounds, café and offices in due course. The panels are masked by trees and are south facing so they are difficult to spot!