FIND out what it takes to be a weekend tour guide at Salisbury Cathedral.

The cathedral is holding a recruitment event on Saturday, September 23 which will give anyone interested a chance to meet members of the cathedral’s award winning team and find out more about volunteering.

The main event takes place in the North Transept between 2pm and 4pm. Tables will be laid out café-style to allow current cathedral guides to ‘speed date’ those interested in joining, and there will be mini talks from current guides on subjects such as the Perils and Perks of Being a Cathedral Guide, Art in the Cathedral and the History of the Cathedral.

There will also be a chance to climb up to the West Window to see the cathedral views and a chance to visit the library, which sits above the East Cloisters.

There are 260 cathedral floor guides, broken up into 13 guiding teams doing morning and afternoon shifts. The cathedral asks for potential guides to commit to one half-day session a week but can sign up for more.

All guides undergo a seven day training course.

Brendan Fletcher, 25, volunteers on a Friday morning. He said: “I am always amazed by the variety of visitors we get here. I suppose part of it is our proximity to the cruise ports of Southampton and Portland – and the fact that we are on the Stonehenge-Bath and West Country routes.”

Rachael Newman, 26, joined the guiding team seven months ago. She said: “I was a midwife working 12 hour shifts when I got glandular fever, which developed into ME so I had to stop work. After six months I was back on my feet and looking for something manageable to occupy myself. I am very sociable, liked history and had studied Salisbury Cathedral for my Art History A level, so my mum suggested trying the cathedral.

“That one day a week really helped me. You are part of a team, which is very sociable, and always learning interesting things. The training course is just the tip of the iceberg. Every week I learnt a bit more.”

Rachael, who has been working part-time at a pre-school in Salisbury and running her own business, The Baby Grow Club, offering ante-natal and Pregnancy support, added: “Guiding on that one morning a week gave me a structure to build on and a chance to interact with people. All my friends were at work, many of them were midwives, and it was great coming into an environment where no-one knew I was and had been ill and where I was comfortable.”

To register your interest in the weekend guide recruitment day contact Christine Keegan on c.keegan@salcath.co.uk or call 01722 555123.