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Scottish Horse Power

The Kelpies
The Kelpies

Scotland may be a small country but it’s one that believes in grand gestures, like commissioning the world’s tallest and largest equine sculptures.   Known as The Kelpies, these mythical water horses celebrate the contribution of horse power to the history of Scotland.

The Kelpies straddle the same canal that the Falkirk Wheel (see last week’s blog) is located on; they’re just a few miles downstream.  Imagine you’re a relatively uninformed sailor –  and you’re gliding happily along on a Scottish canal, when you notice, with some trepidation, that the canal seems to drop away abruptly in the distance.  To your amazement, you find yourself on a boat ferris wheel (wheee!) and, as soon as you’ve recovered from that shock, you’re suddenly (and you do come upon them suddenly) floating between two massive 90 foot high horse heads.  You might be rightfully asking “what the #*@  is next”???

See the canal lock in the lower right?
See the canal lock in the lower right?

The Felkies were installed in 2013/2014; the installation is so new the gift shop hadn’t yet opened. (We were bereft! But this has spared you receiving a pair of Felkie salt and pepper shakers for Christmas.)

I’m making light of something that really was thrilling to see; you can’t imagine the scale of these sculptures until you’re standing next to them.  (Those of you in Chicago may remember the 1/10th scale maquettes that lived on the lakefront in front of the Field Museum last year.  These are the big daddies!)  A few more images…

There’s a pool at the base of each horse

Elsewhere in Scotland, public art was intriguing, if not as grand.  Some of it was silly, but it was always worth seeking out.

Organic art
Peacock building
A pig playing bagpipes
A very distinguished lion
“Natural” art
Hume, after the party

This piece, however, was the last straw.

IMG_3881

Written by:
Elaine Haydock
Published on:
September 18, 2015
Thoughts:
4 Comments

Categories: Scotland, The Felkies

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Morgan Wood

    September 19, 2015 at 7:37 pm

    I love tagging along on your adventures!

  2. Hallee Patterson

    September 21, 2015 at 12:15 am

    When I look at the horses I can’t help but wonder why we make such a fuss over the bean?
    Hallee

  3. Judy Stewart

    September 25, 2015 at 1:44 am

    The mythical horses and the other “things” are strangely beautiful!
    Wow! Thanks for the field trip.

  4. Mike the Judge

    September 28, 2015 at 3:34 am

    Fantastic !!!!

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