PLANS for an historic castle in the Eden Valley could see its Norman keep opened to the public once again.

Appleby Castle has already opened its doors for guided tours, as a wedding venue and established itself as a location for outdoor drama, but owner Sally Nightingale has hopes to offer more.

Historic England has 'come to the rescue' and stumped up the cash to restore it to sound structural condition.

“Appleby Castle is very unusual, in having been lived in continuously since it was first built in Norman times," said Mrs Nightingale. “The keep, sometimes called Caesar’s Tower, is the oldest surviving building, dating from sometime between 1110 and 1170, and is one of the few intact Norman towers.

"Unfortunately, it has had problems recently – sections of wall have been sinking, and cracks have appeared."

The owner sought advice from Appleby historian Sir Martin Holdgate and collectively the pair have come up with a plan.

“The idea is to let people enter the keep through a doorway at ground level," said Sir Holdgate. "This originally opened into a basement, and it may well be here that the prisoners were kept when the keep was the County Gaol in the 16th and 17th centuries.

"We could make one of the rooms in this ground floor look like a prison again. From it, you would climb one of the spiral staircases and as you went up you could visit chambers that have been refurbished to tell the history of the building - first when it was part of a mediaeval fortress and then, after it had been restored by the celebrated Lady Anne Clifford in 1652-3."

In order to fulfill her vision, Mrs Nightingale will be seeking grants once the building has been secured.

An application has meanwhile been submitted to Eden District Council to fell oak and yew trees which are claimed to be contributing to subsidence on the south west corner of the keep.

In her proposal, Mrs Nightingale states the trees need to be felled to allow the restoration of the moat to dry status and to enable the castle grounds to be restored to their condition at the turn of the century.

A consultation period ends on August 27.