Welcome
Thanks for stopping by to share thoughts and photos from my travels. May your visits enlarge your world with new ideas and images. But, be warned! I hope to infect you with the travel bug so you, too, can venture out and gather treasured memories of your own.
Thoughts About Travel
Kelpies
How you experience the Kelpies may depend on your age and who you are.
If you’re a child, you’ll know them as mythological beasts that live in the loch (think Loch Ness monster). Stories of these legendary creatures are told to children to keep them away from the loch and out of danger. David King-Smith’s book, The Water Horse (and the movie by the same title), depict the relationship between a young boy and the baby Kelpie he discovers, raises, and befriends.
If you’re an adult, you might be startled to see two enormous horse heads piercing the horizon as you drive along the M9 motorway. Until they come into view, you’ve only seen the beautiful natural horizons of Scotland’s landscape.
If you’re a Scot, you might see them as a monument to the horse-powered heritage that represents past industries in support of Scotland’s economy – pulling wagons, ploughs and barges.
If you’re the artist, Andy Scott, you might see them as a notable engineering accomplishment as well as a towering symbol of an industrial legacy that stands proud and majestic, like the people called Scots, and the land called Scotland.
The Kelpies, at 30 meters (98+ feet) tall, mark the gateway to the Forth & Clyde Canal. They are the world’s largest equine sculptures as well as the largest public works of art in Scotland. They were assembled in 90 days after endless planning and preparation.
Tours of the Kelpies include going inside and viewing the support framework, itself a work of art. Not visible is the massive substructure.
Night viewing of the Kelpies includes light shows, not to be confused with the Aurora Borealis that has been providing spectacular sky colors much longer.
Click here for additional Kelpie viewing https://bit.ly/2EaoLBR
