A Canadian friend who knows of my interest in the Pennington family history just sent me a copy of the August 97 issue of "in Britain" magazine, published by the British Tourist Authority. There's an article called "Picture Esk" by Alison Helliwell, about following the River Esk from its source to the sea at Ravenglass, and a picture of Muncaster Castle (with TONS of red and pink azaleas or rhododendrons in front) is accompanied by this text: "Muncaster Castle has been the seat of the Pennington family for more than 700 years and is arguably not the most beautiful of buildings. In fact, set up on a hillside overlooking the meanders of the Esk below, it looks quite a forbidding building, squat and grey. So it is a more than pleasant surprise to find that the walk from the gateway is through beautifully-landscaped gardens filled with colour and the scent of trees, shurbs and flowers and that the castle is actually made of a warm, pink granite. "The castle is still the home of the Penningtons -- something the family believes may be due to the "Luck of Muncaster". Given to one of their 15th-century forebears by Henry VI in return for giving him shelter, the Luck is a glass drinking bowl that, so the legend goes, the king blessed, saying that, as long as it remained intact, the Penningtons would live and thrive at Muncaster. Needless to say, this particular treasure is kept safely locked away but a replica is on display along with many other facinating items including the 16th- and 17th-centruy embroideries, a collection of more than 6,000 books and furniture and paintings collected by the family over the centuries. "The unusual but nice thing about Muncaster is that it really does feel lived in with the family still using many of the rooms on a daily basis. As the guide book warns, among the more unusual exhibits could be a pair of late 20th-century pyjama trousers tucked under a bed in a hurry." The "Further Information" sidebar includes this info: Muncaster Castle, Ravenglass, Cumbria CA18 1RQ, tel: (01229) 717614. Gardesn and owl centre open daily all year. Castle open: mid Mar-end Oct, Sun-Fri 12.30-4pm last admission. Admission: £3.50. The BTA has a website at http://www.bta.org.uk It may be possible to obtain back issues through there if this copy is not available locally. Cheers, Kathy Cochrane (desc. of Timothy Pennington of NJ/PA>NC/VA>KY) The CD-Info Company, Inc. Publishers of "Burning Issues" & "Pressing On" at http://www.cd-webstore.com subscription webpubs for developers & users of CD-R/DVD-R & CD/DVD manufacturing technology, and The CD Information Center http://www.cd-info.com now in its 3rd year on the Web