FIVE young people helped by York-based youth homelessness charity SASH spent a day acting as special tour guides of Bishopthorpe Palace.

The young people, aged between 17 and 20, guided SASH guests through the palace over two sessions in the morning and afternoon, giving commentary on the history of the gatehouse, palace, state rooms and chapel. Following each tour, guides and guests enjoyed tea and homemade cakes provided by the palace staff.

The day was arranged as part of a package of support offered to SASH by the staff at Bishopthorpe Palace. They have chosen SASH as their charity of the year.

As well as undertaking a number of fundraising activities, the staff were keen to provide opportunities directly to the young people that SASH helps. The tours, put together by palace warden David Atkinson, were organised as part of the SASH Active programme which offers cultural, learning and confidence building activities to young people in SASH Supported Lodgings.

Ryan, 17, said: “It was a really good experience. I was nervous at first, but the more I got through the script the more confident I got and at the end it felt great! I spoke to some of the guests afterwards and they all really enjoyed it.”

Guests included SASH donors and fundraisers, businesses, representatives from charitable trusts and SASH volunteer ‘hosts’, who offer their spare room to young people facing homelessness.

Stuart Brown, of the Kirkby Foundation, which has donated to SASH this year, said: “We’ve supported SASH because we are very aware of their work and we are delighted to be associated with the charity. This has been a lovely opportunity to visit Bishopthorpe Palace, which is not something you can normally do and we’ve really enjoyed the young people’s tour.”

Frazer Tobin, palace and events manager, added: “We were delighted to welcome young people involved with SASH to be tour guides of the palace.

“They did a truly excellent job at learning the history of the building and guiding the invited guests through some of the oldest rooms, sharing some interesting tales of Archbishops gone by. I hope that the experience will have been a positive one, boosting the confidence of those taking part and that they will remember it fondly.”

The palace is not officially open to the public except for guided tours of ten people or more who are associated with local churches. The tour season starts at the beginning of May and finishes at the end of September. The tours led by David Atkinson usually begin at 2pm and finish at 3.30pm with afternoon tea served in the Great Hall at the end of the tour.