The Kelpies

The Kelpies rear from the Forth valley like mythical beasts turned to steel, two colossal horse-head sculptures that have become one of Scotland's most recognisable modern landmarks. At 30 metres tall, they are the largest equine sculptures in the world, their stainless steel skins catching light and weather in ever-changing patterns. Created by sculptor Andy Scott, they celebrate the heavy horses that once powered Scotland's industry.

In Scottish folklore, kelpies are shape-shifting water spirits that often appear as horses, luring unwary travellers to watery doom. But these Kelpies honour the real horses—the Clydesdales that pulled barges along the canals and worked the mines and farms of industrial Scotland. Scott modelled them on two working horses named Duke and Baron, and the sculptures capture both the power and the nobility of these animals that built a nation.

The Kelpies stand at the heart of The Helix, a parkland transformation project that has turned former industrial land into a place for recreation and wildlife. Visitors can take guided tours inside the sculptures, climbing through the steel framework to understand how they were built. After dark, the Kelpies are illuminated, their forms glowing against the sky in colours that change through the seasons. They have become a symbol of Scottish confidence and creativity—ancient myth reimagined for the modern age.