Penguin Trail in Stirling hailed a success

Stirling’s first Penguin Trail has been hailed a success after increasing footfall around the city and offering festive fun for shoppers.

Article Source: Go Forth Stirling
Last Updated: 23 January 2025 12:16

The Trail, organised by Go Forth Stirling BID (Business Improvement District), gave participants the chance to pick up a map and discover the story of Chilly the Penguin who, along with members of his colony, had drifted away on an iceberg.

They took part in `Chilly’s Family Reunion’ by following the map and finding the missing penguins which had been hand-painted in the windows of 15 Stirling shops by talented local signwriter Ross Hastie.

A range of city centre businesses hosted a penguin-themed window including Amore Hair, Indian Cottage, Café Aina, TJ’s, Nationwide and Stirling Property while other businesses offered penguin or Christmas-themed promotions and offers.

Laura McClintock, who runs Nevermore Tattoo Studio in Friars Street, offered Christmas-themed temporary tattoos to youngsters and created 77 tattoos across the festive season including a number of penguins.

She said: “We were a stop along the Penguin Trail and it was lovely to have lots of families call in, tell us how they were getting on with finding the penguins and take up the offer of a temporary tattoo.

“This was a successful initiative which involved many of us in the business community and helped bring people into the city centre to visit the shops and cafes along the Trail. We enjoyed it and are looking forward to the next Trail!”

More than 500 Penguin Trail maps were distributed and 225 downloaded from the Go Forth website throughout December.

Those who took part were surveyed afterwards with 56.3% of respondents noting they had discovered a new business during the Trail with these including Clan Artisan on Port Street and Toast at Forthside.

One family wrote: “We didn’t realise how many independent shops Stirling centre has. The Trail sent us all over the town which we really enjoyed and it was a wonderful way to help get everyone into the Christmas spirit.”

It took an average of two hours for families to finish the Trail with many completing it over a couple of days.

Meanwhile, 75% of respondents said they spent money in local businesses while taking part in the Penguin Trail and several mentioned how they now look forward to trying more of the BID’s seasonal Trails.

Pupils from Allan’s Primary School also completed the Trail during their outdoor lessons and Chilly the Penguin accompanied one of the classes during their walk around town.

Meanwhile, Central Library was one of the map pick-up points and staff were pleased to see Chilly the Penguin pop in to visit youngsters enjoying a Bookbug session.

Deborah McFadzean, Stirling Council Community Library Officer, said: “It was a lovely surprise for the children at our Central Library Bookbug session to have a special visit from Chilly the Penguin.

“There was an increase in families visiting to pick up their trail maps and spending time in the library too during the initiative. We’ve also had many great comments about the trail and how it allowed families to enjoy some free festive fun and visit local businesses they’d never been to before.”

Jen Preston, Vice Convener of Stirling Council’s Finance, Economy and Corporate Support Committee, added: “It’s great to hear that this fun and creative festive project helped boost footfall in the city centre and promoted Stirling’s wide range of independent businesses and community facilities, including Stirling Central Library, to families.”

Go Forth’s Event Co-ordinator Josie Brown was delighted with the success of the Penguin Trail and is now working on plans for the next seasonal trail at Easter.

She said: “We’re pleased with how our first Penguin Trail went and we’ve had great feedback from families and traders who took part.

“As with all our seasonal Trails, we wanted to offer families some fun during their visits to the city centre and promote all the fantastic shops, cafes, attractions and restaurants we have in Stirling.

“As always, the business community embraced the initiative and enjoyed having their windows painted with penguin scenes by Ross.

“We were also delighted to see traders getting into the spirit of the season by handing out free candy canes and hot chocolate drinks to families taking part.”

Three lucky winners were selected at random from all the correctly completed Trail competition entries and they received prizes of a goody bag featuring penguin- themed books, toys and treats.

The Penguin Trail is one of many initiatives devised by the BID to support Stirling’s independent businesses.

Go Forth Stirling BID was set up in 2017 and currently represents more than 600 local businesses with a key objective of delivering projects and services which improve Stirling’s trading environment to benefit businesses, shoppers and visitors.

For more details visit www.goforthstirling.co.uk

Image: Chilly the Penguin with Laura McClintock from Nevermore Tattoo

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