I couldn’t resist the lure of these magnificent horses. I dare to say you won’t be able to either.
In my research for our trip, I had seen travelers’ pictures of The Kelpies and couldn’t wait to visit for myself. Horses are majestic power and have always had a magical effect on me.
On our half-hour drive from Stirling on the M-9, two mammoth horse-head sculptures suddenly rise 30 meters (nearly one-hundred feet) into the sky. These magnificent beasts have been part of Helix Park in Falkirk since 2013.
They are fabulous from any angle. You can only best sense the sheer mass of these 300-ton metal equines when you stand next to them.
Sculptor Andy Scott created these steel-plated beauties, modeling them on two real Clydesdale horses, Duke and Baron. Duke is looking down and Baron’s head stretches at the sky. (Growing up in St. Louis and loving the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales, it’s no wonder the Kelpies were a must visit.)
Scottish legend refers to kelpies as shape-shifting evil spirits that commonly take the shape of a horse. Legend claims they live in rivers, lakes, and streams and lure people to climb on their back and then to their death. Many bodies of water in Scotland have a story about them, including Loch Ness.
Under a certain light, they can look more malevolent.
Sculptor Andy Scott captured the power of the beasts rather than their malevolence. Clydesdales once commonly pulled wagons, plows, barges, and coal ships along the Forth and Clyde Canals that these horses watch over. The use of the Clydesdales cleverly highlights the transformation of Scottish industry and economy.
We purposefully timed our arrival to get pictures before and after dusk. At night, the horses change colors. It’s hard to pick my favorite. The cost of LED lights is supposedly the cost of a pot of tea.
They have been blamed for drownings and floods. You can see why parents might warn their children to stay away from the water. Since they can shape shift into handsome men and beautiful women, mothers use them to warn young ladies of being led astray and young men of being distracted by a woman’s beauty.
Did you know to banish a Kelpie spirit you have to use a halter stamped with the sign of a cross? I didn’t bring one on my visit to the Kelpies, but thankfully, I survived.
No one escapes the allure of these larger-than-life creatures!
However, I am surprised more people don’t fall into the moat from walking around with their eyes on their cameras.
Scotland is a land full of myths and legends. The stories have not only inspired writers and poets, but also artists and sculptors!
There’s so much to love about Scotland.
Who is the lucky traveler with you in the first photograph