The Thistles Shopping Centre — Local services in Great Britain

One's first impression of the Thistles is of the endless walls and rather pointless and empty windows facing the roadways surrounding it. And the dirty blank service walls, delivery yards, escape staircases and dirty ventilation pipes and grilles that 'inside out' malls like this give to the unfortunate cities that host them.

One's second impression arriving by car is a low, dark and grungy carpark where one is warned that one's registration has been filmed. Who gave consent for this form of intrusion on our privacy? So immediately one feels servailed and intimidated. I was charged £2 for slightly less than half an hour of parking which is really offputting. If malls like this (and the shops within them) want to survive then parking needs to be FREE.

Inside the inappropriately formal marbled malls were the usual collection of big names plus some smaller but not individualistic ones. The high rents and service charges paid channel volume tat rather than individual and creative shops into places like this. Its just the way the system works here. If you want a better experience exit this place and walk the characterful shopping streets of Stirling where there is a great deal more individuality.

The Thistles does no favours to Stirling. It has robbed the older buildings and streets of the rentals and maintenance that they deserved, it turns its rear end on the city, offering nothing but service yard junk to look at and it smothers shoppers who arrive by car in an unpleasant and expensive subterranean environment. It is no wonder people buy online now, and the Thistles is soon going to be a casualty of this trend unless it does something radical to make travelling here worthwhile. When I was there the vast marbled halls were nearly empty of people. I wont be going back...

Plenty of brightly lit up shops BUT too many that sell watches. Note the black car is over the line & the bus 🚌,. can't get through. I was wondering where all the shouting was coming from.

22/3/24 Back again to the Indian Cottage for their lovely lunch. So far it's the best in Stirling & their mango lassie is lovely & thick.

Now to the thistle ctre. I saw this large wheel barrow stall, selling homemade scones, cakes & biscuits SO i paid the woman £1.30 for her empire biscuit, but i hadn't read the price on the label 🏷️ right, 'cos it cost £3 i could hardly believe it 😱 OR disbelieve it so i had another wee look & it was £3.

I paid the lady the £3 & off i went with it in a white paper poke (bag) I sat down further into the Thistle ctre. waiting on my friend coming out of Primark whilst i sat eating a few bits of the biscuit & when she turned up she didn't think that i paid three quid for an empire biscuit SO i went back to double check & that was the correct price & all i told the woman was how nice her empire biscuit tasted & bought quite a large treacle scone from her that was cheeper than the biscuit at £2.50 & later on when I got back to Falkirk i got it warmed up & had butter put in it & it tasted just...

This review is more about our first impressions of Stirling, quaint city in Scotland. The centerpiece of the town is the shopping center called Thistles. To the uninitiated Thistle is the national flower of Scotland. It is a mauve coloured flower growing on a bush that grows wild and is so ubiquitous in Scotland. Naturally it symbolizes Scotland. Thistle the shopping center symbolizes the modern part of the town. It is like any other shopping mall. It has M & S, Primark, a pound store, Boots chemist, Body care, a very big Sports Direct, Sainsbury, Costa, Timsons for repair, a Turkish delight stall, nail art, and many other retail businesses. The best part about the town is it is so convenient because the railway station, the bus stand, the Travel Lodge, the pubs and a small night life are all within walking distance. The most beautiful part of Stirling is the Fotth River and the walk along the river. Set at around 40 miles from both Edinburgh and Glasgow, it is called the heart of Scotland. The two historic highlights are the Castle and the Wallace Monument, both stand tall on hills and can be seen from anywhere...