Nottingham Castle has already welcomed thousands of visitors back to its grounds following a £30 million transformation.
Castle bosses are delighted with the response from people so far as they enjoy new attractions including an adventure playground and improved exhibits.
But they have also highlighted the work of more than 100 volunteers who have signed up to be on hand within the Ducal Palace and in the grounds, helping to answer visitors' queries.
The volunteers, who come from all around Nottinghamshire, range in age from 18 year olds to people in their 70s.
One of the volunteers, 24-year-old Callum Jordan from Mapperley, is spending the summer helping out on site before beginning a Masters in museum and heritage development at Nottingham Trent University later in the year.
Callum said: “I thought it would be great to get some first hand experience in that sector and get a feel for these places, to be a fly on the wall. My goal is to become a curator one day.
“It’s been a great experience and the working environment is really good. It’s one of the most inclusive and positive teams I’ve been a part of.
“It’s a really positive environment and everyone from the management down have been involved a lot.”
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Another volunteer, Cailin, 20, from Sneinton Dale, said that the work had been an opportunity to exercise a long-held passion for ancient history.
“It’s been lovely, and the volunteers are a really nice bunch. They’re all really willing to help.
“I’ve been walking around and making sure that people get any help they need. Most of the questions are about the Hellenic art pieces. I have a fascination with history, especially classical history.
“I’m planning to volunteer here for a long time.”
Malcolm Pether, 75, from Sherwood, is a seasoned volunteer of many years. Malcolm said that volunteering at the castle has been a “learning experience” for the volunteers as well as for the visitors.
“It’s nice to be active, there’s only so much gardening I can do. For someone my age it’s nice to be in an environment where there are a lot of young people around.
“I’ve done a lot of volunteering and being a Nottingham person it was irresistible really. It’s been a learning experience finding out about Nottingham and the castle.”
