Tag: Stirling

Holidays are Coming – Christmas Markets and events you must visit this December

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By Nikita Vance

 

Whether you love it or hate it, the run up to Christmas can bring excitement and wonder to even the biggest Scrooges among us. Now we have Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” drilling in our ears everywhere we go, and we’ve all seen the slightly off looking Santa Clause in the shopping centre we can no longer deny it: Christmas is well and truly coming. What better way to get into the festive spirit than the various Christmas Markets and events Scotland has to offer?

Keeping it local, Stirling has a wide array of Christmas events available throughout December guaranteed to keep the little kids (and the big kids at heart) entertained!

 

Christmas Shopping Fayre

 

The Christmas Shopping Fayre returns to Stirling Castle on the 6th of December!

Image Credit: Stirling Castle

The Great Halls will host a variety of local Scottish brands, crafts and fine foods and drink guaranteed to get you excited and prepared for the festive season. There will also be brass band performances throughout the night, and all the mince pies and mulled wine you could dream of!

The fayre is open from 6pm to 9pm, with last entry at 8.15pm. Tickets are £6 per adults and free for children and carers, available here on a limited first-come-first-served basis.

 

 

Christmas Ceilidhs at The Tolbooth

 

It just wouldn’t be Scotland without a Ceilidh, and what better way to get into the Christmas spirit than a traditional festive Ceilidh with the International Ceilidh Collective?

The Tolbooth is hosting afternoon and evening Ceilidhs on the 10th of December for all ages. Doors for the afternoon session open at 2.30pm, while the evening session opens at 7pm with both sessions beginning 30 minutes after doors. Tickets for both sessions are available here.

You don’t have to be a Ceilidh regular to attend! A caller will talk you through all the dances to ensure everyone has fun, and soon you may even become a Ceilidh professional! It’s the perfect opportunity to try something new, and to support the local Arts community.

 

Christmas Spectacular at Blair Drummond

 

Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park’s Christmas Spectacular is back and better than ever! You’re absolutely spoilt for choice, with attractions and experiences that cater for all ages. For £3 per person, you can experience an enchanting story time with Mrs Clause and her elves as she reads “The Night Before Christmas”. Or why not visit their festive fairground and take a spin on the teacups; a drive in the dodgems; a ride on the train and more! Catch Santa on his drive throughs throughout the park several times a day, with his naughty list in tow so be on your best behaviour.

Image Credit: Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park

There’s also a Christmas market which offers all sorts of festive goodies, perfect for getting those last-minute presents out of the way! There are also hot food and drinks on site including hot chocolate from the hot chocolate bar; toasted marshmallows from the fire pits; fish and chips; and (for the adults) gin cocktails courtesy of Stirling Gin.

 

The Christmas Spectacular runs until the 23rd of December from 10am-3.30pm Monday to Friday, and 11am-7pm on Saturdays and Sundays; and between the 21st and 23rd December. Tickets can be booked here, with prices varying depending on which day you plan on going.

 

 

Santa’s Grotto at Thistles

 

Experience the magic of Santa’s Grotto at Thistles Shopping Centre! Your kids can write a letter to Santa; receive a special gift; and take a ride in his magical sleigh. All proceeds go to charity partner Strathcarron Hospice.

The Grotto opens every Saturday and Sunday until the 18th of December, and daily from 19th December – 24th December from 10am to 5pm. (Note: The Grotto closes for lunch between 1pm and 2pm).

Tickets can be booked here, for £6.95 per child. There is a maximum of two adults and four children per time slot, and all children must be accompanied by an adult over 18 years of age.

 

Cut your own Christmas tree at Duff Christmas Tree Farm

 

Pick your perfect tree and make festive memories at Duff Christmas Tree Farm! With over 350,000 trees on site, you’re absolutely spoilt for choice and guaranteed to find the best tree for you.

Their special ‘cut your own Christmas Tree’ experience allows you to choose and cut the tree for yourself, with staff on hand to give you any assistance you may need. They provide you with a saw, but you’re required to bring your own gloves and something you can kneel on. It is also suggested that you bring or wear wellies, as some areas of the far, can be very muddy. There is also a wide selection of pre-cut trees for you to choose from.

Prices for a tree vary based on type and size, and are as follows:

  • Fraser Fir Christmas Tree: 4ft – £35, 5ft – £40, 6ft – £50, 7ft – £60, 8ft – £70, 9ft – £80 – 10ft and above – £10 per foot.
  • Nordman Fir Christmas Tree: 4ft – £35, 5ft – £40, 6ft – £50, 7ft – £60, 8ft – £70, 9ft – £80 – 10ft and above – £10 per foot.

Each weekend in December there will also be various food trucks on site including Traditional artisan pizzas available from Base Pizza, ethically sourced specialty coffee from Fallen Tree Coffee and delicious treats from Flour Bake Girl. The farm also sells their own homemade jams, marmalade, and mince pies.

Duff’s Christmas Tree Farm is open daily until Christmas Eve between 9am and 5pm, and there’s no requirement to pre-book your visit. Perfect for a last-minute outing!

 

 

A Jailhouse Christmas Carol

 

A new festive performance experience at Stirling Old Town Jail takes an original comic spin on the much beloved classic A Christmas Carol. Join the grouchy, scroogey governor of the Old Tolbooth as he’s visited by three spirits – the Cells Ghosts of Prisoners Past – ‘all eager for him to mend his wicked ways and embrace the season of goodwill to ALL convicts’. Guaranteed to be a fun time for all ages!

The performance tour will be running every 30 minutes each weekend between the 3rd and 18th of December, and then daily from the 27th to the 30th of December. You will also have the opportunity to tour the cells of the prison, and the roof-top observation tour which boasts stunning views of Stirling.

Image Credit: What’s On Stirling

Tickets are £12 per adult and £7 per child not including concessions and can be booked here.

 

Support local businesses this Christmas. For all your festive fun, choose Stirling!

The PEAK wins Facility of the Year 2020 at Scottish Leisure Network Group awards

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By Nikita Vance

 

The awards took place on 17th November, at the Inchyra Grange Hotel in Grangemouth.

The award recognises facilities and their teams, who over the last 12 months “have gone above and beyond and made a notable impact in the community”. The panel recognised the PEAK for its achievements in innovating new studios; products; and programmes, whilst keeping everything running through the difficult circumstances caused by COVID.

It is also been recognised as a hub for the community which has a large impact on keeping the local community active and happy “through integrated activities and programmes delivered by Active Stirling’s teams: Sport, Physical Activity and Inclusion, Active Schools, Community Activation, and Employability and Health Referral across Stirling”.

Of the award, Active Stirling’s Director of Operations, Matt Bunnell said; “We are delighted that The PEAK has been recognised for Facility of the Year 2022 at the Scottish Leisure Managers Network awards.

“The facility, community and support teams across Active Stirling have worked tirelessly over the past year under exceedingly difficult circumstances through and out of the pandemic to achieve uninterrupted provision whilst also creating transformational opportunities to improve people’s live through using sport and physical activity as a progressive lever for positive change.”

“This award is an endorsement of their dedication and professionalism in delivering for the Stirling community on behalf of Stirling Council.”

Stirling Council call for public input in budget allocation for 2023/24

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By Nikita Vance

 

With a £17 million funding gap on the horizon for the next year’s budget setting process, Stirling Council want to hear your opinion on how they can best tackle financial issues.

No increase to the Local Government’s core funding from the Scottish Government is to be expected over the next three years, the Council need to find a way to “bridge a gap which is almost double its annual roads and land services budget”.

All Stirling residents are invited to take part in the Budget consultation here.

Image via Twitter @stirlingcouncil

Zookeepers delight as six-week-old white rhino already weighs similar to a piano

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By Nikita Vance

 

Morag, who got her name through an online poll ran by the park, was born on 12th October at Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park to parents Dot and Graham. She is the sixth rhino calf born at the park, as part of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) Endangered Species Breeding Programme – designed to ensure the safeguarding and maintenance of healthy rhino populations for the future of the species.

Keepers at the park had to spend a lot of time building the trust of the southern white rhino calf, to get her used to the scales.

On the 28th October, Morag weighed in at a whopping 23 stone 8lbs (149kg), with the parks’ Large Mammal Keeper, Alex Wainwright saying, “she has more than doubled in weight since she was first born.

Image via PA Wire

“This increase is in line with the milestones we would expect to see with our rhino calves.

“Capturing these measurements is vital in ensuring that our animals are healthy, eating well and growing at an appropriate rate. Weight is an especially important indicator of health and wellbeing, and we are delighted that Morag is growing as she should.”

 

Penalty Charge Notices in Stirling on the rise, following sharp drop over first COVID lockdown

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By Nikita Vance

 

New data obtained from Stirling Council shows that when Scotland first went into lockdown in 2020, the amount of PNC’s administered by the Council had a sharp decline in comparison to that of the previous year.

The severe drop in PNC’s administered in 2020 was directly caused by the stringent measures put in place by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 March that year, which meant that less people were driving or parking their cars in ticketible zones in Stirling. These measures saw that people in Scotland were required by law to stay at home except for:
  • Essential shopping – for food or medicines and only once a day
  • Exercise – only once a day and alone, or with someone from your household
  • Medical reasons or for the care of vulnerable people
  • Travel to and from essential work – all employers should be making provision to work from home

Of these measures, the First Minister said, “Let me blunt. The stringent restrictions on our normal day to day lives that I’m about to set out are difficult and they are unprecedented. They amount effectively to what has been described as a lockdown.”

“I am not going to sugarcoat it in any way,” the first minister said. “Coronavirus is the biggest challenge of our lifetime.

“Stay at home,” she said. “That is the message I gave yesterday and I am reinforcing that message now.”

Police Scotland also enforced this legislation, by increasing police patrols in key areas such as cities. This build up of fear and compliance further decreased the amount of people leaving their homes, not to mention those who would drive. With less cars on the road, there were less PCN’s needed to be administered.

The Stirling Council data supports this assumption, as there is no data for April or May 2020 so therefore no PCN’s were administered. This could also be due to that fact that some UK councils relaxed or even suspended parking enforcement regulations at the start of the first lockdown, which could well have been the case here.

 

The data also shows that the most ticketed months of each year are affected by COVID lockdowns. In 2019, before COVID, November was the most ticketed month of the year. This is due to the influx of people travelling by car into Stirling, as they most likely would be going for Christmas shopping.

The following year, however, the most ticketed month was January as the first case of COVID had not yet reached the UK until the end of that month. Following the announcement that the first case of COVID had been detected in the UK on 29 January 2020, people became fearful of contracting the virus and left the house much less. Then, with Scotland in lockdown by March 2020 no one was able to leave their house hence less tickets for the remainder of that year.

By 2021, life returned to some semblance of normality, as the high vaccine uptake encouraged the First Minister to lift restrictions in the run up to Christmas. This meant that the shopping behaviours of those in Stirling not only returned to normal, but almost doubled as the most tickets across the four years were issued in this month.

 

Top 5 Most Ticketed Places in Stirling

From the data, we have worked out the top 5 places in Stirling to avoid if you do not want to get a PNC. This is solely based of the amount of times each area was ticketed per month in 2020, therefore it does not take into account total amount of PNC’s issued.

McGill sends History Boys to 4th Round Tangerine Dream

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By Peter Humfrey

 

History was made earlier this week as the University of Stirling’s Men’s football team were drawn to play topflight side Dundee United away, in the Scottish Cup.

The side, who currently sit second in the Lowland League, made history after becoming the first University side in Scottish history to make the 4th round of the Scottish Cup.

 

Euan McGill celebrates win against Albion Rovers – Image Credit: George Vekic

Their place in the hat was assured after a weekend victory over Scottish League Two side Albion Rovers, 1-0, in a tense encounter, with midfielder Euan McGill tapping home a winner in the 111th minute.

They will now face 12th-placed Scottish Premiership side, Dundee United, nicknamed “the Tangerines” on the weekend beginning 21st January.

Former striker-turned manager, Chris Geddes has said he was “absolutely delighted” with the historic result. 

On the win he said “the players put in a phenomenal performance, their best of the season so far, and deserve all the plaudits they will receive on the back of this”

Ahead of the Fourth Round draw he was full of praise for their “outstanding performances all season” speaking on how they were “being rewarded for their efforts.”

The result, from a club in existence less than a decade, came against fourth tier side Albion Rovers, who currently sit 7th in the league above the University’s team.

Midfielder and Captain – Matthew Berry – Image Credit: University of Stirling Football Club

Speaking after the victory, captain Matthew Berry, hailed “the morale, the attitude and the work rate” from his teammates underlining the bond in team; “we are so together both on and off the pitch.”

Before the draw Berry said “To make history in the Scottish Cup is incredible”, going on to talk of the team’s anticipation for the fourth round.

“We can’t wait for the next round – a Premiership tie would be amazing!”

 

Following the draw, Geddes stressed there were a lot of games before that they need to focus on but that it’s an “exciting game for the whole club and University” and that the “boys will be really looking forward to it”

This marks quite the year for manager Geddes, who was named Scottish Student Sport Coach of the Year after leading his side to consecutive titles in the British and Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Premier North Division.

Manager – Chris Geddes (37) – Image Credit: University of Stirling Football Club

The fourth round tie will be played at the 14,000 capacity Tannadice Park, in Dundee. 

Whilst ticketing information has not yet been released, it is expected the team will take a small contingent of away fans and The Stirling Scope will keep fans up-to-date with any travel arrangements made by the club or the University.

 

The setting sees big change for the side who are more accustomed to playing at the 3,800 capacity Forthbank Stadium, who they share with Scottish League Two side, Stirling Albion.

Stirling Albion enjoyed their own magical fourth round tie at the beginning of this year, travelling to Ibrox, where they lost 4-0 to Old Firm giants, Rangers.

 

Stirling University students deeply affected by UK wide student Housing Crisis

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By Nikita Vance

 

The lack of affordable private housing and spaces available in university accommodations has had a detrimental impact on the physical and mental wellbeing of students across Scotland.

Students in Stirling have been pushed to the limit trying to find suitable accommodation for the academic year, as prior to the semester starting in September the University of Stirling announced that in person attendance would be compulsory following two years of online teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Facebook groups like “Rent a Flat in Stirling” have been brimming with posts from Stirling students begging for any accommodation they can get. Some have even been forced into blind bidding on flats due to the sheer demand for housing, as fourth year sociology student Matty Millar stated “There was either nothing or if we found something, it was gone within an hour,”

“We managed to get a viewing for one place and the landlord sat us down and said last year people offered to pay more and asked if we would be happy to do the same. We said yes and a couple of days later, an email went round saying they were doing a blind bid for the flat. At that point, we just backed out.”

Millar is currently having to live with his parents in Glasgow and commutes to Stirling each day via train, a debilitating and stressful task due to the ongoing train strikes since the summer which show no signs of stopping.

Nikita Vance speaks to the University of Stirling and VP of Communities, Jess Reid, to find out what they plan to do to curb the student housing issues.

Stirling train station undergoes £5 million makeover

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By Achilleas Salaveris

 

Stirling train station and the area around is in the process of a £5 million makeover.

The project, which began on 18th July, is set to be completed in Spring 2023, The aim of the project is to provide safe areas for pedestrians and cyclists, which will deliver “greener” and more sustainable transportation options in Stirling.

Funding for the project was provided by the Scottish government and Network Rail Scotland, with the project itself being delivered by Sustrans Scotland in collaboration with Stirling Council.

Michael Melton Grant, Manager of Sustrans Scotland, hopes that “this will create a more people focused entrance to Stirling station.”

The areas of the train station receiving a ‘makeover’ include:

  • Refurbishment of the station entrance canopy.
  • Creating a pedestrianised plaza around the station.
  • Improved customer waiting facilities on platforms 2 and 3 and new public toilets.
  • The creation of a Cyclepoint with 150 additional cycle parking spaces and a small maintenance area. This will also enhance the e-bike offering on the station forecourt, which is already very popular.
  • Pedestrianisation of the current station forecourt, replacing the roundabout on Goosecroft Road with a T-junction and a new car park entrance created from Burghmuir Road.
  • Existing bridge top deck waterproofing works in advance of the forecourt works.
  • Taxis being relocated out with the station area to the city centre, also managed by Stirling Council.

These improvements will make the station safer due to the reduction of traffic, which includes a reduction of taxis waiting in front of the station. Taxi drivers have been left frustrated by this, as the renovations and subsequent permanent change has been damaging to business thus far.

One taxi driver says, “It has affected us really really bad; we would normally sit at the train station picking up hires now people are walking, I have less hires and I don’t think I’ll get any more”

Others have also complained that the lack of a taxi rank at the improved station will affect business further.

Image Credit: Achilleas Salaveris

Alongside the reduction of traffic, new bike routes will provide better travelling connections between the city centre and the University of Stirling campus.

Some employees working on the train station are awaiting this project with excitement, saying “it will worth it when it is done”.

However, some are not so keen on the proposed changes; “The Stirling Council changed the road system a few years ago, they made it one way, and the people were getting stuck in the Thistle centre, and they cannot park, so I personally think it is not going to work”.

According to the works manager the biggest concern of the whole project was the condition of the bridge deck. It had been noticed that the deck was suffering from corrosion in the concrete, due to weather and age. Luckily, it was found that the condition of the deck was solid, which made re-construction and repair to the bridge easier.

Of the project, Jenny Gilruth MSP, Minister for Transport, said “We welcome the start of this latest phase in the Stirling Station redevelopment, marking further Scottish Government investment in Scotland’s Railways.

“This is a great example of how we are working closely with our industry and local partners to significantly enhance passenger facilities at this station, as well as improve the active travel links between the station and the Stirling community.

Image Credit: Achilleas Salaveris

‘Our aim is to encourage more people from the Stirling area to want to travel by train while also choosing more sustainable ways to get to and from the station whether that is by bus, walking, wheeling or cycling.

“We also want to drive local economic benefits by encouraging more people to visit Stirling by rail to explore the city and the surrounding areas.

“This is all part of our vision for rail services going forward; services which are attractive, efficient, passenger focussed and provide best value for money.”

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