CLITHEROE Castle offered people the chance to experience first-hand pike and musket drills, 17th century code breaking, and artefacts from the Battle of Preston, at the weekend.

The castle, which was garrisoned by the royalists in 1643 and slighted by the parliamentarians in 1649, hosted a ‘Civil War Sunday’.

People were given the chance to experience what it was like to be involved in the conflict between the Roundheads and the Cavaliers. Initially, the castle was held by the royalists, but it was abandoned after the Battle of Whalley in April 1643.

In early 1644, it was garrisoned again, but after the Battle of Marston Moor on July 2, the royalists were defeated.

The parliamentarians took control for five years.