Volunteering at Hadrians Wall and Tyne Valley Group

Volunteers carrying stones on the Bellister Estate, Northumberland — Volunteers carrying stones on the Bellister Estate | © National Trust Images/John Millar

Want to learn more about the Hadrians Wall and Tyne Valley Group? Or are you looking to make new friends, or maybe just want to spend more time doing a hobby you enjoy? By becoming a member of our volunteer team you can do all of these and more, so read on to find out more about joining.

Why join us?

There are lots of reasons to join us; making the move to volunteer could be the best decision you ever make.

Become part of a friendly and dedicated team
Meet people from all walks of life and forge new friendships
Utilise your existing skills and learn new ones
Strengthen your CV and help to develop your career
Enjoy the great outdoors
Learn about the history of this special place.

Volunteering at Hadrians Wall and Tyne Valley Group

Join our team as front of house

At Housesteads Visitor Centre there's a wide range of people from all over the world visiting this wonderful UNESCO site. We like to say hello, welcome them in, make sure they have a great time and leave with a smile on their face.

Go behind-the-scenes

If you’re a born organiser, you can help staff and other volunteers to keep things moving by arranging stock, doing a tidy-up for the next visitor or even watering the plants. This can involve a little face-to-face interaction and, of course, having fun.

Know a JPEG from a PDF?

Quite a lot of our work is done with the help of a computer in order to make everything as enjoyable as possible for our visitors, eg. updating the website, uploading events or recording visitor comments. If there's a place for Excel in your heart, maybe this kind of volunteering work is more for you?

Getting practical

The practical conservation volunteer team works alongside rangers across various sites along the Tyne Valley, including Hadrian's Wall. They meet every Thursday to do work like coppicing, dry stone walling, brash clearance and footpath maintenance.

They’re always looking for a few extra pair of hands, so if you're free on a Thursday and enjoy getting involved outdoors then this is the team for you. 

Repairing the traditional dry stone walls at Hafod Y Llan farm, Snowdonia — Repairing a traditional dry stone wall | © National Trust Images/Paul Harris

How much time?

Our volunteers are a diverse group of different ages and situations. Some donate their time regularly, others more on and off, and some for work experience. The frequency with which you volunteer is entirely up to you.

Training opportunities

We support volunteers who may be looking to develop experience in a certain field and can often help when training opportunities within the Trust become available. We give training for essential volunteer tasks.

What else is in it for you?

We organise meetings and social events for volunteers three or four times a year so you can get to know each other better, for training, for listening to a guest speaker, or just to say thank you.

Volunteers on the Bellister Estate, Northumberland — Volunteers on the Bellister Estate | © National Trust Images/John Millar

Getting in touch

Want to join our team?

If any of this sounds like it's the thing for you, please enquire by emailing Housesteads.

Have a skill?

If you have a special skill but it's not mentioned above, please suggest it to us! We're always looking for ideas and ways to improve so do get in touch and we'll take it from there. Tell us about it.

Help us to improve

If you have visited Hadrian's Wall recently, perhaps wondering what it might be like to volunteer here, then why not let us know how we did, or how can we make it better? How can we improve?

Need something more?

We understand that volunteering isn't for everyone. If you're looking for something more permanent it's worth checking the National Trust jobs website for any advertised vacancies. Search for a job.