Muncaster Castle's ghost is one of its top attractions

Muncaster Castle, near Ravenglass, beat off competition from around the UK to win the Visit Britain Excellence in England award for attractions with fewer than 100,000 visitors.

The award was part of the Safeway Excellence in England Awards, run by the newly-formed VisitBritain organisation.

The site's famous ghosts and the discovery of a Roman road there have helped to boost visitor numbers in recent years.

A wild Owl centre at Muncaster and 70 acres of gardens which feature plants from all over the world have also helped.

Only north venue

Muncaster Castle lies above the River Esk and has remained in the same family, the Penningtons, since 1208.

The oldest part of the castle as it stands, is the Pele Tower of 1325. This was reportedly built to keep out the Scots.

The castle itself houses a large variety of artefacts, collected by the family over the centuries.

Treasures include a picture painted by Gainsborough for a bet, John of Bologna's Alabaster Lady and Henry VI's drinking bowl - known as the 'Luck of Muncaster' - dating from his stay at the Castle during the Wars of the Roses.

Muncaster Castle was the only north venue to win an award. Other winners included places in Devon, Norfolk, Derbyshire and Cornwall.

The award comes two years after the nearby village of Eskdale in Cumbria seen up to 90% of its income, which came largely from tourism, disappear because of the foot and mouth crisis.