As a registered charity, we rely heavily on volunteers and guides to bring the Castle to bring our collections and stories to life during our open season in the summer months.

We are delighted to be opening for regular castle tours in May and are looking to increase our team of friendly volunteers and guides to help. We are appealing to anyone who may have some spare time, whether it’s a few hours once a week or a day once a fortnight, to consider joining our invaluable team of volunteers. We are looking for a range of people to help with different tasks, including meeting and greeting visitors, a spot of gardening across our beautiful estate or conducting guided tours.

Without the volunteers who generously donate their time to the Castle, we would not be able to open our doors and allow visitors to explore our fascinating building and its spectacular collections. Our volunteers are key to creating a unique visitor experience and are highly valued members of the team.

Edward Maitland-Carew, Resident Trustee shares: “Thirlestane Castle has a long and wonderful volunteering history since it opened to the public in 1984.  Ever since then we have relied on our incredible volunteers to help bring the castle’s history to life for its visitors.  The castle is now a Charitable Trust and accredited Museum established to care for and secure the long-term future of the castle and its collections. 

Without our incredible volunteers, we would not be able to share stories of this great castle with guests from across the world. The money made from each visitor ticket sold goes towards protecting this magnificent building for future generations.”

All volunteers and guides will be fully trained and have support on hand to help them take advantage of this exciting opportunity to be a part of our Castle’s 16th century heritage.

To learn more about guiding and volunteering opportunities and for more information, click below.