The Kelpies
15/06/2023
Having spent our first night of our road-trip in a Travelodge near Newcastle, we began our journey into Scotland in earnest, driving the 3 hours from Newcastle to Falkirk, up the A1, taking in some of the beautiful views of the east coast.
We even managed to take an unplanned trip across the causeway to Holy Island - just for fun.
Holy Island is a lovely spot on the east coast of England, just below Berwick, the gateway to Scotland, or England, depending in which way you are travelling. It can only be reached by car via a tidal causeway. "What if we get stuck on the island?" says my wife, as I ignore her and drive over the causeway - we didn't!
The SatNav picture was certainly interesting, as it indicated we were just about to drive across the sea - I guess Google Maps doesn't know when the tide is out!
We safely reached Helix Park, home of the Kelpies and we weren't disappointed. The park itself looked wonderful, with walks, children's play areas, and of course the World's largest equine (horse to you) sculptures! These two sculptures, modelled on the Clydesdale horse typical of the area in times gone by, stand at 100 feet tall.
The sculptures are named after two local horses, Duke who pulls a dray in a local park for a living, and Baron who is a rescue horse. The two have been immortalised by local artist Andy Scott and are a much loved part of the local landscape and area and will be celebrating their 10th anniversary later this year.
They are very impressive sculptures and well worth a visit if you're ever passing this way...