The Kelpies sculpture, built on reclaimed industrial land, is a striking, monumental public work that overlooks a banal setting of gift shops, filthy water, and a handful of motorboats.
Kelpies are mythical shape-shifting water spirits that inhabit lochs, rivers, and streams in Scotland. The name “The Kelpies” was chosen to recognize not only the beasts of Scottish lore but also the heavy workhorses of Falkirk’s industry, pulling coal and other goods along the region’s industrial canals.
Falkirk is also home to the Falkirk Wheel, the world’s only rotating boat lift, which transports canal boats from the Forth and Clyde Canal up to the Union Canal. There is also a traditional lock that the boats leaving the Falkirk Wheel have to navigate.
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