The Kelpies Sculptures, Scotland
On a visit to Scotland a while ago, I decided that I would like to see The Kelpies, the largest equine sculptures in the world. I had seen them featured on a television programme ages ago and wanted to see in person how impressive they were. I was certainly not disappointed!
Parking the car at The Helix Park near Falkirk, I walked a short way with my husband and suddenly they were visible behind the greenery. Even at a distance they were frighteningly huge.
See what I mean?!
It was a grey, dreary day when we visited - but that didn’t dampen our spirits, we were so astounded by the sight of those horses.
They are 100ft tall and weigh over 300 tonnes each. They were created by artist Andy Scott and have transformed the area into a tourist destination. Visitscotland.com states that they were modelled on real-life Clydesdale horses named Baron and Duke and represent the heavy horse history of Scottish industry, pulling ploughs, barges and more.
The Kelpies are free to visit every day of the year and the surrounding area has been designed to provide easy access for all.
There are tours available where you can go inside the sculptures for a closer look at their engineering. Also at Helix Park is a visitor centre, with a cafe and gift shop.
It was lovely experience going to see them - even better than I’d imagined.
One thing that I didn’t realise, as we visited during the day, was that they are lit up at night. A quick search online found this photograph of them on spookyscotland.net illuminated in all their glory. Fabulous.
If you’re planning a trip to Scotland, I would recommend a stop-off to view The Kelpies. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.