High Level Cleaning at
SEA LIFE Loch Lomond Aquarium

• Project Type: High Level Gutter, Window and Skylight Cleaning
• Location: SEA LIFE Loch Lomond Aquarium, Loch Lomond Shores, Balloch
• Client: The attraction’s operator
• Duration: Recurring visits from November 2024 to September 2025
• Team Deployment: IRATA qualified rope access crew of 2, up to 5 at peak

Overview

Think Access’s Scotland team carries out high level cleaning at the SEA LIFE Loch Lomond Aquarium, the landmark visitor attraction on the shore of Loch Lomond at Balloch.

Across a series of visits our technicians have cleaned the building’s split level gutters, its distinctive sloping glazing from roofline to ground and its skylights, inside and out, keeping one of Scotland’s best known lochside buildings looking its best for visitors.

The Challenge

The aquarium’s sweeping architecture is what makes it memorable, and also what makes it difficult to maintain. Gutters run at several different levels, the cafe glazing rises in a continuous sweep from ground level to the roof, and the lochside setting means glass and gutters weather quickly.

Some elevations had built up years of heavy organic soiling that a single pass would not shift. And as a busy attraction the building could not be wrapped in scaffolding or closed for cleaning, while exposed lochside conditions meant the team had to work around strong gusts coming off the water.

The Solution

Rope access let the team clean every level of the building with nothing more intrusive than a pair of ropes over the roofline.

Across the programme our team delivered:

• Gutter cleaning across the split level rooflines, with all debris bagged and removed
• A three stage wash, scrub and dry process on the most heavily soiled glazing, repeated until the worst elevations came back to standard
• Cafe glazing cleaned from roof to ground, inside and outside
• Skylights cleaned and checked as part of each roof visit
• Exclusion zones and sequencing agreed with the venue so cleaning ran alongside normal opening, with drops timed around visitor areas

Because the building is now on a recurring cycle, each return visit is quicker than the deep cleans that started the programme.

Results

The glazing, skylights and gutters have been brought back to a standard that matches the setting, and the operator has a repeatable, scaffold free way of keeping them there. Visitors see a clean, bright building and the venue sees no disruption at all.

The project sits alongside our work at other high profile visitor destinations, showing how rope access keeps distinctive buildings maintained without ever getting in the way of the people enjoying them.

High Level Cleaning for Visitor Attractions and Commercial Buildings

Think Access delivers window, gutter, cladding and skylight cleaning by rope access at attractions, retail destinations and commercial buildings across Scotland and the UK. If your building is overdue a clean that scaffolding would make impractical, contact Think Access to discuss a programme.