Pint-size pony Marley gets free rein of Bamburgh Castle as birthday treat

The pocket-sized pony is a regular visitor to the castle when it is open, where he is a firm favourite among visitors.

To make sure Marley didn’t have a long face on his birthday, castle events and wedding manager Karen Larkin invited Marley to celebrate his special day grazing the lawns.

Karen said: “When I found out it was Marley’s birthday and he was actually allowed out but not allowed to mix with the public I thought it would be lovely for him to come to one of his most favourite places with his brother for a little trip out.

Marley’s owner, Lisa Walker, of Mini Pony Hire said: “Normally Marley would be at the castle over the Bank Holiday weekend and his birthday meeting all the children and visitors, but because of the coronavirus situation we can’t do that.

“Marley loves coming here and they have such nice grass as well, so we asked if we could come today as a bit of a birthday treat for Marley because he’s missing being out and about because of the situation at the moment.”

No party is complete without a guest and Marley was allowed to bring his older brother, therapy pony Smurf who is 30.

Said Lisa: “When Marley was invited to come to the castle for his birthday he was allowed to bring a guest so Smurf could come along too. He is having a lovely day pottering around and having some grass.

“Smurf is very, very special – he is eyeless - he had to have both his eyes removed because of tumours. He doesn’t do any physical work but he goes to schools for special needs children, care homes and hospitals. He travels in the lift because he’s so little. He goes into people’s bedrooms just to brighten their day. He loves going around and meeting new people.”

Marley will return to meet visitors at Bamburgh Castle as soon as the attraction re-opens and it is safe for him to return.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you.