Thistle Awards 2025: Solsgirth Home Farm Wins Best Community Tourism & Events in Central & East Scotland

We are delighted to share we have won the 2025 VisitScotland Thistle Award for Best Community Tourism & Events Initiative in Central and East Scotland!

This achievement is a huge honour for our team, collaborators, and the wider community who have supported our vision for community-led agritourism. From being shortlisted earlier this year to winning the regional award, it has been a journey rooted in connection, collaboration, and shared pride in Central Scotland’s rural heartland.

Award displayed on a Rustic Catalan Tray

From Shortlist to Regional Winners: Solsgirth Home Farm Reaches the National Finals of the 2025 VisitScotland Thistle Awards

Thistle Award Regional Winners Across Scotland

The Thistle Awards celebrate excellence in tourism across the country. In our category, Best Community Tourism & Events Initiative, three regional winners will now go forward to the national stage:

• West of Scotland – South Ayrshire Council: The International Ayr Show, Festival of Flight - Scotland’s largest free public event and the only airshow in the country, drawing huge crowds and showcasing Ayrshire on a global stage.

• Central & East of Scotland – Solsgirth Home Farm - A community-led agritourism destination in Clackmannanshire, rooted in sustainability, collaboration, and rural resilience.

• Aberdeen City & Shire – Aberdeen Restaurant Week - A celebration of local food and drink, bringing residents and visitors together to enjoy the city’s culinary scene.

• Highlands & Islands: Sanday Community Craft Hub, Orkney - A volunteer-led initiative showcasing local creativity, craftsmanship, and culture. Supporting makers and strengthening island community connections.

• South of Scotland: Stranraer Oyster Festival, Stranraer - A flagship regional event celebrating food, community, and coastal heritage, drawing visitors to the shores of Loch Ryan for a uniquely Scottish experience.

  
  

You can read more about the regional awards here:

• West of Scotland Winners

• Central & East Winners

• Aberdeen City & Shire Winners

• Highlands & Islands Thistles Winners

• South of Scotland Thistle winners

  
  

Together, these winners represent the incredible diversity and creativity of Scotland’s tourism landscape, from small islands to city streets, community farms to coastal festivals, all united by a shared commitment to people, place, and sustainable growth.

Celebrating Community Impact

This recognition is not just about us as a farm, but about the hundreds of people who bring Solsgirth Home Farm to life each month. Our farmers’ markets, which now welcome hundreds of visitors monthly, have become a gathering place for locals and visitors alike. With over 60 stallholders showcasing the very best of Central Scotland’s food, drink and craft, the markets provide a vital platform for small producers and a meaningful way for people to shop locally, meet the makers and feel part of something bigger.

Beyond the markets, our calendar of events has grown into a true celebration of rural life. In the past year alone, we’ve hosted more than 55 experiences, from hands-on workshops where visitors learn traditional skills to seasonal celebrations that bring the community together. These events aren’t just about entertainment; they’re about connection, education and fostering pride in our shared heritage.

Our partnership with RHET has welcomed over 500 schoolchildren to the farm, offering them the chance to get close to food, farming and the natural environment. For many, it’s their first experience of seeing where food really comes from, meeting animals and learning about Scotland’s rural landscape in a way that feels alive and memorable.

Inclusivity is at the heart of what we do, and through our collaboration with Home-Start we’ve been able to create opportunities for families who need rest and connection most. These experiences, whether it’s a farm tour or a moment of calm in nature, remind us that tourism can be as much about wellbeing and belonging as it is about discovery.

The award celebrates not only these achievements but also the values that guide us: sustainability, inclusivity and rural resilience. It is recognition of the belief that agritourism, at its best, is about people as much as place, and about creating experiences that leave a lasting impact long after visitors head home.

Teams from Solsgirth Home Farm, The Bus Stop, Newton Farm Holidays & Tours

Looking Ahead to the National Final

Winning the Central & East Scotland award means we now go forward as National Finalists in the Best Community Tourism & Events Initiative category at the 2025 Scottish Thistle Awards.

The national ceremony will take place in November in Glasgow, bringing together some of Scotland’s most inspiring tourism initiatives.

Whatever the outcome, reaching this stage is already a victory we share with everyone who has walked our trails, joined our markets, supported our events, and believed in our mission.

Thank You

To our visitors, volunteers, stallholders, school partners, and supporters near and far -thank you. This award belongs to all of you.

We can’t wait to represent Central and East Scotland in the National Final and continue championing community-led tourism that is rooted in people, place, and sustainability.

Shortlisted