A successful summer at Thistles, Stirling

While the Scottish summer may have been a washout as far as the weather was concerned, it was anything but at Thistles shopping centre in Stirling this summer. Over the past six weeks, visitors to Stirling were able to enjoy the centre’s indoor beach despite the weather. Kids big and small came along to put their sandcastle building skills to the test in return for a small donation to Thistles’ charity partner, Strathcarron Hospice resulting in almost £2,500* being raised for the charity.

Claire Kennedy, Corporate Fundraiser at Strathcarron Hospice, said: “We were thrilled to welcome so many children and families to the Thistles Summer Beach throughout the holidays – a huge thanks to everyone who came along! We’d also like to thank all the volunteers who made this possible, local people who gave their own time and also businesses including XPS, Equiniti and Merck who gave their colleagues the opportunity to volunteer too.

All the funds raised will go direct to patient care, helping people across Stirling and the wider Forth Valley receive the care they need at the end of life – be that in our Hospice in Denny or if their own home. With the community’s support, we can help our patients, and their loved ones make every moment count.”

In addition to the beach, Thistles also played host to a free-to-play Summer Senses event. Visitors had the chance to put their senses to the test with a range of activities from silent disco dancing to giant doodling and retro arcade games, to watching iconic movie scenes. Almost 17,000** visitors stopped to play at the Summer Senses event over its six-week residency, making it the most popular event ever hosted at the shopping centre.

The indoor beach and summer senses event have helped Thistles achieve a 1.2 percent increase in footfall to the centre compared to the same period last year. This positive news follows the recent announcement that H&M will return to the centre alongside popular coffee chain, Starbucks.

Gary Turnbull, Centre Director at Thistles, said: “When planning activities at Thistles, we always do so with our local community at the heart of ideas. Whether that’s helping to keep the kids entertained over the school holidays without breaking the bank or working with local charity partners to support the great work they do throughout the city.

We’re delighted to see that both events have been so well received by our guests this summer, which has resulted in a busy shopping centre and a great financial donation to Strathcarron Hospice.”

Due to popular demand, the indoor beach will be returning to Thistles, Stirling during the October school holidays.

*£2,484 total amount raised for Strathcarron Hospice

** 16,670 total number of visitors at Summer Senses event