The Kelpies. A remarkable feat of engineering and creativity by the Glaswegian sculptor, Andy Scott. Upon seeing these magnificent horse heads from afar you cannot help but stop to visually digest the almost ethereal majesty of these silver steel sculptures. They sit amidst the beauty of the surrounding nature in the most surreal way like a mirage in the dessert and it’s only as you move closer they become tangible and of this earth.
They were made to represent the lineage of the Scottish Industry and economy and the simple but important role they played by pulling along ploughs, wagons and coal ships that shaped Falkirk to look like what it is today. They were made and named to reflect ‘the mythological transforming beasts possessing the strength and endurance of 10 horses; a quality that is analogous with the transformational change and endurance of Scotland’s inland waterways’ and that they do as they stand stoic and impressively tall over us all with an almost hypnotic charge. What is absolutely wonderful though, whether or not it was the sculptor’s intention, you do not feel small at all in comparison instead the sheer power that these horses resonate, you feel empowered and ready for the fight.