Thursday, 3 July 2025

The Kelpies


 On our recent road trip around Bonnie Scotland we stopped off at Falkirk to see the awe-inspiring Kelpies. Situated in The Helix, a former industrial area which is now a lovely eco-park, The Kelpies are two 30m-high steel sculptures of horse heads. These incredible pieces of art were created by artist Andy Scott, and represent the industrial heritage of the area and the workhorses who pulled canal boats along the waterways and ploughs through the fields. The beauty and scale of The Kelpies ( aka Duke and Baron ) is breath-taking and they really have to be seen in the ( horse ) flesh to be appreciated.


We spent most of the afternoon and evening there - mostly because we hadn't realised just how late the sun sets in Scotland at that time of year, and we wanted to see The Kelpies lighted up at night. It was worth the wait as they looked stunning.



We'll definitely have to visit the big 'orses again one day - they're just gorgeous.







7 comments:

McSCOTTY said...

Great pics Simon. Kelpies are of course supernatural creatures in Scottish folklore rather than just big horses which makes them seem more special ( to me at least).

Simon B said...

Thanks Paul. You're right, I really should have mentioned the folklore aspect of the artwork. I've always had a great interest in folklore and it seems to be almost as prominent in the public eye today as it was when I was growing up. Maybe I should do some folklore posts on here?

Anonymous said...

Never mind the folklore aspect, Simon - you missed an opportunity to mention that Kelpie is also a Marvel super-hero!
She was the Scottish member of a team called, er... the Union.

https://www.marvel.com/articles/comics/the-brits-are-coming-meet-the-union-the-new-super-team-coming-in-empyre

-sean

McSCOTTY said...

Sean, I wasn't aware Kelpie was a Marvel character, sounds awful.

Simon I love folklore so I would certainly be interested in those

Anonymous said...

Yeah, the Union, Paul - theres an English super-hero, a Scottish one, a Welsh one, and... it sounds like the start of a bad joke doesn't it?

Still, it could have been worse. At least they didn't call the north Irish one Orange-Man.

-sean

McSCOTTY said...

Lol I don't think it's the type of comic that would interest me although I do usually like Paul Grists stuff

Simon B said...

You've sold me on The Union, Sean - they sound like a supremely sensational super-team!
Or, actually, maybe not...
Thanks for the vote for folklore posts, Paul - anything to get people to read this damn blog ;-)

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails