Muncaster Castle is to play a key role in celebrations for Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – lighting a special beacon in her honour.
The castle is part of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Beacons celebration and will light up its beacon at 10pm on Thursday, June 2.
Muncaster Castle World Heritage site
At that same time beacons will be lit in communities across Hadrian’s Wall – Muncaster is part of the Frontiers of the Empire World Heritage site. It’s a double celebration for those communities as the Platinum Jubilee falls in the same year as the Hadrian 1900 Festival – commemorating Roman emperor Hadrian arriving in Britain to supervise the building of his frontier Wall in AD122.
Visitors are being invited to attend the beacon lighting and to bring their Platinum jubilee celebrations to the castle throughout Jubilee week. It’s rumoured the Emperor Hadrian himself may appear to supervise the lighting of Muncaster’s beacon.
Platinum Jubilee celebrations
From Tuesday, May 31 through to Sunday, June 5 the castle and gardens will be bedecked in bunting ready to host your Platinum Jubilee picnics.
Even The Queen (in scarecrow form) will be on hand to welcome visitors at the castle’s famous Bugingham Palace attraction!
“We are delighted to be part of Her Majesty’s Jubilee Beacons event,” says Peter-Frost Pennington from Muncaster Castle.
“The Queen has played such an important role in this country during her 70-year reign and we are honoured to light up the skies in her honour.
“But the Jubilee fun is not limited to that. We hope families will come along to our gardens with their picnics throughout the week and the Jubilee weekend – and we will make sure they have a great time!”
Jubilee beacon
The Muncaster beacon is being lit on the hill between Muncaster Castle and the Roman fort, port and bathhouse site next to Ravenglass. Free parking is being offered at Muncaster Main Gate carpark where you can follow signs to the beacon site.
Earlier, at 9.45pm on Thursday, June 2, around 2,022 beacons throughout the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Commonwealth countries will be lit in honour of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
It marks the first evening of the four-day Jubilee Weekend. And from May 31 to June 5 Muncaster Castle and gardens offer the perfect place to celebrate the Jubilee with family and friends. There will be all the regular shows and entertainment and visitors are encouraged to bring their Jubilee picnics along to mark a special moment in history.
There are over 70 acres of wild, woodland gardens with adventure playgrounds plus the 11.30am “World of Owls” and 2pm “Sky Hunters” flying displays.
At 1pm on Friday 3rd, Saturday 4th & Sunday 5th June Muncaster will be firing a 1 o’clock cannon at the front door of the Castle. It was last fired for Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee and previously for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897.
