Forres Heritage Trust needs volunteers to guide visitors around Tolbooth and Nelson's Tower this tourist season
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A group dedicated to preserving two local historic buildings needs new volunteers to help show them off to visitors.
Forres Heritage Trust (FHT) volunteers currently open Nelson’s Tower to the public for six consecutive months annually but each year it is becoming more difficult to guarantee this without enrolling more.
The group also hopes to run weekly tours of the Tolbooth during the same period.
FHT trustee and volunteer coordinator, Peter Haworth, confirmed volunteers show visitors round Nelson’s Tower from 2-4pm every day from the start of April until the end of September.
He said: “This year, on the first Saturday of every month, we will also run Tolbooth Tours. There will be nine on each Saturday from 10am.
“These attractions are hugely popular but to ensure they run well and provide a good experience we need more volunteers. If we don’t attract at least 10 new people this season, we may well have to reconsider how often we can open, or indeed whether we can open these buildings at all.”
The trust is hosting three volunteer days for people to drop into either building to find out more. These will be on Wednesday, March 15, and Saturday, March 18, between 2-4pm in the Tolbooth – then on Monday, May 8, the Tolbooth and Nelson’s Tower will both be open from 2-4pm.
Peter said: “These are informal sessions where people can have a chat with other volunteers, view the buildings and see whether or not they want to get involved.
“There is no minimum number of hours that we need people to volunteer for, we will take all the help we can get.
“All of our volunteers really enjoy what they do. They meet people from across the globe and, by giving up their time, they will be ensuring that two of the town’s most historic buildings continue to thrive and remain relevant for years to come.”
Tourism project coordinator with Visit Moray Speyside, Euan Armstrong, highlighted the importance of both buildings to the region.
He said: “The Tolbooth and Nelson’s Tower are two grand buildings which make up a large part of the area’s history.
“The role of volunteers is so important to the tourism sector, with many sites relying on them to remain open.
“It would be fantastic to see both stay open as they give people more incentive to visit Forres.”
For more information visit https://forresheritage.co.uk/
