Day 239 - End of the canal

Moving day.
Sore feet.
Chance of rain.
Gale-force winds.

Pick any of the above as the excuse we used to change our plans and walk to the end of the Forth and Clyde Canal today rather than the diversion along the Union Canal into Edinburgh.

Phil at the end of the Forth and Clyde canal.

After checking out of our Glasgow hotel around noon, we made our way by train to our hotel on the outskirts of Edinburgh. The sky was supposed to clear and the winds die down toward the end of the afternoon, so we waited until closer to 5 p.m. before heading back to Falkirk High and resume where we had left off two days ago in order to pick up the Forth and Clyde canal again and finish walking it until it reached the Clyde. 

The initial part of the walk took us through Falkirk, which started out quite nice at the top of the hill, then progressively went down hill literally and figuratively as we neared the canal. Perhaps this is why the suggested walk online had us diverted onto the Union Canal at this point. But we had a goal, damn it, and we were going to walk to the end.

All was not lost. It wasn't long before the canal path was in flatter, open countryside. And we really didn't have too far to walk until we reached our goal. And it was a spectacular finish ... for here lies The Kelpies.

Approaching the Kelpies.

The Kelpies are two 30-foot high sculptures of horses heads, the largest equine sculpture in the world. Each horse weighs 300 tonnes and is made from steel. They're really quite beautiful, and Phil was truly and unexpectedly blown away when he saw them for the first time.

Designed by Glasgow School of Art (which unfortunately, just burned down) artist named Andy Scott, the sculpture was unveiled in 2013, and is already a must-visit location in the area.

The Kelpies are meant to pay homage to the contribution of work horses to the life of those in the Falkirk area. A kelpie is a mythical creater that possesses the strength and endurance of 10 horses...and in turn, that is much like Scotland.