Thirlestane Castle was honoured to provide the setting for the final part of the Rickshaw Challenge. 

On the morning of Friday 5th November 2021 Thirlestane Castle was the starting point for the last stage of the Children In Need Great Rickshaw Challenge. The challenge was filmed and featured in a one-off hour long documentary aired on BBC1 on Wednesday 10th November.

This saw five young people, all of whom have been supported by BBC Children in Need funded projects, take on a relay-style ride in five stages.

Team Rickshaw, including  former ‘The One Show’ host Matt Baker, arrived on site first thing to hand over the baton to Millie, a 20 year old from Edinburgh who was born with a rare liver condition.

The group left Thirlestane and pedalled 25.6 miles finishing at Sciennes Primary School, Edinburgh, later on that day.

This included dramatic drone footage of the castle and a lone piper, which provided the inspiring setting for the start of Millie’s journey.

Paul Collin at Behind the Scenes, the event logistical specialists working with BBC studios said:

“Thirlestane Castle initially caught our eye as a stunningly beautiful backdrop in the surrounding Scottish Border countryside. Once we contacted the team at Thirlestane Castle we instantly knew this would be the right location to film. The team at the castle really helped with everything we needed and were so understanding to our needs.  We’d recommend this location because not only does it look amazing but also the team at the castle are so lovely to work with, so welcoming and we’d definitely love to return and work with them again in the future.”

Visit our film page for more information on filming at Thirlestane Castle.