Mr Wheeler was appointed to the position earlier this year but he has been taking tours as part of the association since 2014.
His interest in being a guide stemmed from soon after he moved to the island to take up the role of head teacher at St Peter Port School in 1998.
He used to show visiting family and friends around the island, with the latter including several German speakers.
That enabled him to put to good use his knowledge of the language, acquired when he worked in the country.
After joining the guild he rose through the ranks of bronze and silver awards to become one of 10 gold accredited guides currently providing tours.
But more would be welcomed, he said, particularly with French – or German – speakers. But they would need to be bilingual.
‘This is not just about ordering a beer. People need to be able to answer questions,’ he said.
‘What we really need is a few French people who live on Guernsey.
‘We do have a few and they’re coming through as bronze guides at the moment.’
Anyone interested in taking on the role of a guide needs knowledge of the island’s history and heritage but also guiding skills, he said.
‘If you’ve got people for an hour-and-a-half walking tour, where do you stop? What do you say? How do you address them? How do you ask questions? How do you answer questions? There are an awful lot of guiding skills.’
Accreditation is given by the Guernsey College and Mr Wheeler said this equates to the same given to members of the British Association of Approved Guides.
But even those who reach the gold standard will be subject to continuing professional development, building a portfolio of the work they have done, the tours and the reading.
‘We take that seriously, and one of our committee organises that programme,’ he said
‘We visit places that people are going to ask us about, and if you don’t know the answer to a question, they want to know why you don’t know.’
There is always a chance that even those familiar with local history and stories could learn something new, and Mr Wheeler said he would advise all guides to visit the 80th Anniversary of Liberation exhibition at the George Crossan Gallery in the Market.
This year’s regular calendar of walks offered by the guild are already under way, with guided walks of St Peter Port being offered daily at 10.30am, coastal walks taking place every Saturday afternoon and the Spring Walking Festival due to start tomorrow.
Town tours have traditionally started from the Tourist Information Office, which has now moved to a new site in the Town Market.
That has led to guides having to re-think their routes, although Mr Wheeler said that the area offers plenty to talk about before the walk gets going.
But he was less than impressed with the size of the new office.
‘There’s so little room at the counter. Two people can’t work together in there.’
He estimated the total amount of space was no more than about 5 or 6sq m.
‘We’re looking forward to it moving to a bigger home in another building, assuming this is a temporary one.’
For information about the walks available go to guernseyguidedtours.com.
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