[Dabhand16]

Having the same monitor as Rob, although maybe not the same calibration, the first one gets my vote. The highlights are not blown (just) and I like the slightly noisy sky. In contrast, the castle is not noisy, and this makes the image a bit unbalanced for me. I'd like to see a version with a little noise all over, rather than the no noise as in your second post. This image is balanced in this respect, but I like the grittyness and atmosphere that noise can add to an image, especially with this sort of subject.

Having re-read this, I hope it makes sense.

I agree with the comment about the background skyline, but I guess that was something that could not be avoided.