Scotland Vacation October 2023 - The Kelpies and Stirling Castle

We were ready to leave Edinburgh on the morning of October 16th and start our roadtrip. We picked up a rental car and headed out to see The Kelpies Water Horse Statues in Falkirk. It was a bit nerve wracking to be in the passenger seat while my husband was getting used to driving on the left side of the road. There are a lot of roundabouts in Scotland. We were not used to them and it was sometimes tricky to exit at the correct exit because GPS occasionally lagged behind.

While we were picking up our rental car, I noticed a vending machine with Irn-Bru soda. Irn-Bru is sometimes called Scotland's other national drink (after whiskey). It tastes like an orange-ish cream soda. I liked it.

The Helix Park is the home of the Kelpies, the largest equine sculpture in the world (at the time it was built). There were smaller versions of the statues in front of the gift shop.

The Kelpies sculptures are 30 meter high horse heads. They were designed by Andy Scott and were completed in 2013. They are made out of sheets of structural steel bolted together.   

They pay tribute to the draught horse powered heritage of the area and the folklore of kelpies. In Scottish folklore, kelpies are mythical shape-changing water spirits. They are said to have the power of ten strong horses.

It looks like the kelpie is eating the sun.

A canal passes in between the two statues. 

The statues looked amazing from all sorts of angles.

Boats on the canal.

We went into the gift shop and I saw this children's book and had to have it. It tells the story of the Kelpies and how they shape shift to lure unsuspecting children onto their backs so the kelpie can take the children into the water and eat them.

We had a nice walk around the grounds before leaving and heading to Stirling. We spend almost four hours in Stirling Castle. The castle was huge, with so many different areas to wander through. Stirling Castle has been beautifully restored and maintained.

The Queen Anne Garden had herbs and flowers. There were signs next to the herbs stating what ailment they were used to cure. The Queen's lodging and the Prince's Tower overlook the garden.

We liked walking along the ramparts and looking out at the beautiful scenery around the castle.

Part of the royal gardens, The King's Knot.

Stirling Castle was built on volcanic rock above the River Forth.

We definitely got in a good leg workout with all of the stair climbing we did at Stirling Castle.

Costumed actors portraying the queen and her chambermaid in the Queen's quarters.

This actor did a great job portraying a chambermaid from the 1500s. She had a long and detailed story to share about various intrigues that took place in daily castle life.

The ceilings were very ornate. The unicorn is the national animal of Scotland.

The ceiling in this room had hand carved and painted people on each panel In another part of the castle there was a museum room that had some of the original ceiling carvings. There was a mirrored cart in the room so you could roll it around and look down at the mirror to see the reflection of the ceiling. That was easier than craning your neck to look at the ceiling.

Oldest part of the castle still standing and usable.

The castle kitchens were set up like they were when being used centuries ago. You could walk through the display. There were people, dogs, cats, and rats set up in the kitchen areas.

The Chapel Royal was built by James VI for the baptism of his son and heir Prince Henry.

We had lunch at the Unicorn Cafe inside the castle grounds before we wandered through a cemetery to look at the tombstones.

View of the Old Kirkyard from the castle ramparts. Church of the Holy Rude is in the background. The Church of the Holy Rude is the medieval parish church of Stirling. It is named after the Holy Rood, a relic of the True Cross on which Jesus was crucified. The church was founded in 1129, during the reign of David I. The earliest part of the present church dates from the 15th century. This picture makes me think of fairy tales.

Martyrs' Memorial - an angel watching over two sisters, Margaret and Agnes Wilson. Margaret was killed by drowning because she refused to pledge allegiance to King James VII as leader of the church instead of pledging allegiance to God. Agnes was eventually freed on bail.

Some of the tombstones date back to the 1500s.

View of Stirling Castle from the Old Kirkyard.