Cumbria's Museum of Military Life held their biggest Military Festival yet at Carlisle Castle over the weekend. 

On Saturday June 1 and Sunday June 2, the popular local museum welcomed visitors from across the UK and further afar for their third edition of the festival. 

Speaking ahead of the event, museum manager Jules Wooding suggested that this year's festival would be the biggest and best, having started the annual affair in 2022.

News and Star: Captain John Donald, with his regimentCaptain John Donald, with his regiment (Image: Jimmy Moorhouse)

And that certainly proved to be the case, with visitors treated to glorious sunshine in Carlisle as they explored the many stalls, encampments, and military demonstrations that the festival had to offer.

Jules said: "It's great to see the site come to life over the weekend. The Festival showcased different time periods highlighting the military connection with the Castle. Military vehicles, drill, combat, demonstrations, and musket firing - just some of the varied activities that visitors enjoyed. We had fantastic feedback from everyone who came. Plans are already afoot for 2025."

"It was lovely to see this themed event over the weekend which highlighted the military connection with the Castle. Visitors were greeted with a multi-period encampment accompanied by a varied programme of activities and demonstrations over both days. The museum is grateful to all the groups that took part that made the festival a great success and to the visitors that supported the event. We look forward to the Military Festival in 2025."

News and Star: David Kilpatrick, of the Solway Aviation MuseumDavid Kilpatrick, of the Solway Aviation Museum (Image: Jimmy Moorhouse)

Guy Story was at the festival, portraying Captain John Donald of the 47th regiment afoot.

He said: "Re-enacting has got to change. It's going to be relevant to the person who is going to come and see us. We're trying to make history interactive. History is not just from a book.

"People come in knowing that we're not from 250 years ago. We have to take them to 250 years ago and show them what life was like. The festival has been great because it's allowed visitors to have a little taste of everything. They've got a great way of showcasing lots of little nibbles of history."

News and Star: The French GrenadiersThe French Grenadiers (Image: Jimmy Moorhouse)

The annual festival will return in June 2025.