The Kelpies were recommended to me by a colleague as a ‘thing to see in Scotland’. And, I’m so glad we did, this was definitely a highlight of the trip for me. Created by Andy Scott, a pretty famous contemporary sculpture artist, the Kelpies are gigantic horse head sculptures emerging from turning pools along the Forth & Clyde canal. Here’s the fun bits I stole from the Kelpies visitor page (here):

Each of The Kelpies stands up to 30 metres tall and each one weighs over 300 tonnes.

From the artist:

“I wrote of working horses. Of their role in the progress of modern society, as the powerhouses of the early industrial revolution, the tractors of early agriculture and of course, the first source of locomotion for barges on the Forth & Clyde canal, which The Kelpies now inhabit.

…

“I see The Kelpies as a personification of local and national equine history, of the lost industries of Scotland. I also envisage them as a symbol of modern Scotland – proud and majestic, of the people and the land. They are the culmination of cutting edge technology and hand crafted artisanship, created by our country’s leading experts through international partnerships.

You walk up to the Kelpies from a parking lot a fair bit away, you know they’re going to be big, but they keep growing as you get closer until they tower over you in both beautiful and intimidating ways. The sky shows through the steel plates and depending on where you are to the sun you see it blazing through as well (assuming you’re there on a sunny day, which let’s be honest, Scotland isn’t known for).

Now, who isn’t a fan of civic art? I’m all for it, but these guys are just better, they’re about the heritage of their place and they’re beautiful ta’ boot. You can’t top that…

Unless you’re Arria.

Arria is my biggest disappointment of our Scotland trip (well, aside from trying proper haggis, which I really wanted to).

So Arria is another sculpture by the same artist and I hadn’t heard of her before our trip, then, as we’re driving into Scotland, the sun is setting and all of a sudden I look over and there is this gorgeous, graceful sculpture of a woman hands thrown out to her side and she is actually radiating light from the sun setting behind her. It was one of those images that just sticks with you, it, for lack of a cornier word, moves you.

But, we were speeding along a highway and she disappeared behind us way too quickly.

I really wanted to go back and see her up close. I really hope I get to someday.

Here’s a little more about Arria (stolen from here):  Arria “takes the form of a female figure, with two large swooping arcs from the upraised palms of her hands to the hem of her dress. The idea of the arcs comes from the Gaelic name for Cumbernauld, “comar nan allt”, which translates as “the meeting of the waters”.”

The town she is situated above once won an award for being the most dismal place to stay in Scotland, and a part of the idea in commissioning her was to give people some pride in their hometown (the above mentioned Cumbernauld).  Given her position on a hill above a major highway, something like 70,000 people will see her every single day. Not a bad perk for the cost of gas.

More to come.

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