Now that spring is definitely on its way – the blackthorn blossoming, the ewes appearing at some of our sites – we are starting to gear up for the coming season of school visits and guided tours. These activities at Burgh Castle Fort, St Benet’s Abbey and Caistor Roman Town are an important way of bringing our sites alive for visitors – but we could not run them without the support and energy of volunteers. There are mutual benefits for all concerned – NAT, visitors and volunteers. As one of the Burgh Castle Fort volunteers says ‘Always when we get a really good class it makes life very worthwhile. What do I enjoy about volunteering? Being able late in life to still help make things tick.” And of course, school visits are a great way of bringing children to our sites and introducing them to the joys of archaeology and heritage.
At Caistor Roman Town we work closely with Caistor Roman Project and together we have recently established a new partnership volunteer group called the Caistor Outreach Group (COG), specifically for CRP volunteers who run activities at the site. They will now be the ‘one-stop-shop’ for booking school trips and will also provide regular guided tours throughout the summer.
New recruits are always welcome! Now would be a good time to get in touch as COG will be running two training workshops at the end of the month, based at St George’s Hall in Stoke Holy Cross. No previous experience required:
- Friday March 20: School site visits and in-school visits workshop 10.00 – 16.00
- Saturday April 4: Tour guides training 10.00 – 16.00
For more information email info@norfarchtrust.org.uk
If you live nearer to St Benet’s Abbey or Burgh Castle Fort, and would like to get involved, do get in touch as training can be organised as required. We look forward to hearing from you!
