[4] The Thistle Marches opened to the public in September 1997, retaining Stirling's importance as the major regional centre outwith the main cities.

Standard Life Investments eventually bought the entire shopping centre in 1998 for £37.2 million, at least a year after the Thistles Marches phase was complete.

Other major stores include Superdry, River Island, CeX, H. Samuel, Boots, WHSmith, Ernest Jones, Sainsbury's Local and HMV.

As the visitor descends the feeling of entering a different time sets in, as the surroundings change from the busy shopping centre into a confined jail environment.

The guardroom which the visitor enters into contains different artefacts; including Justice Figure and Stirling Heads which are placed as historical presentations, giving information on the room and the history of what happened there.