by 
FROM SCOTTISH MYTHOLOGY
From time immemorial people have had a very special attitude towards such a beautiful, majestic and graceful animal known as the horse. These amazing creatures have always been close to humans, distinguished by traits such as devotion, incredible endurance and strength. People respected and revered horses and created legends and myths about them all over the world which exist to this day and are retold from generation to generation.
The mythical Kelpie horse is an amazing creature from Scottish legends . In her form, water is concentrated in its supernatural form, and rivers and canals became the creature’s habitat. And although the Kelpie can appear in various forms, its most common appearance is that of a black Horse, sometimes gray or white. The creature’s skin is necessarily wet and cold. And it is visible only at night.
Instead of a luxurious mane, the head of the Kelpie Horse is covered with reeds or algae, and its eyes burn fiercely with fire. The creature’s body has a completely magical ability to stretch in length, ending with a tail, like a fish. On the Horse’s front legs, the hooves are turned in the opposite direction, and flippers are visible instead of the hind legs. Thanks to such an unusual appearance, the Kelpie cannot be clearly called either a horse or a fish.
One of the statements of the legends says that Kelpie was once driven out of the rivers, so she turned into the Loch Ness monster . The appearance of a Horse can be luxuriously beautiful, enchanting people, or it can frighten and instill chilling horror with its ugliness. Some legends say that human appearance is not alien to the Kelpie. To lure the next person by, the Horse turns into a young man or girl of attractive appearance.
The Kelpie horse comes out to the river bank, showing its attractiveness with all its appearance and inviting a person to saddle itself. An inexperienced, stupid traveler, ignorant of local traditions and legends, captivated by the beauty of the creature, once sitting on it, can never tear himself away again, as he sticks to the Horse’s body. Having lured prey into its captivity, the Kelpie rushes into the river with a loud noise, quickly plunging into it in order to devour its captive under the thickness of the water.
In different myths, the Kelpie Horse has a different appearance. Somewhere she is known as a coal-black mare, whose mane is made up of thousands of snakes, in other legends she is represented as a terrifying monster, whose head is crowned with majestic bull horns, in still others the Kelpie is represented as a lizard whose head is like a horse’s, and there is enough strength, anger and cunning to destroy hundreds of human souls. According to sailors, if a Kelpie’s howling and crying is heard, a flood or a terrible storm will soon occur.
The Legend of the Taming of the Kelpie
It is impossible for any person to defeat Kelpie or make him subject to his control. However, if you manage to remove the bridle from its head, then the mythical Horse will obey the will of the lucky one. For its incredible strength and endurance, found in 10 adult horses, the Kelpie is valued and revered.
In Scotland there is an amazing mythical story about one lord who was very greedy and selfish. His most cherished desire was to build a castle on the high cliffs. The workers, who were ready to deliver huge stone boulders to build the palace to great heights, asked the lord for an impressive amount of money. However, the greedy lord did not want to part with his wealth and, having learned the legend that spoke of a strong and powerful creature, the Kelpie horse, he decided that he could curb him and subjugate him.
The cunning lord went to the lake and, hiding behind the stones and protecting himself with a silver knife, began to wait for Kelpie. At dusk, the smooth water surface began to be covered with small ripples, then began to boil and, dispersing, revealed an amazingly beautiful horse, which was dressed in harness made of gold and precious stones. At the same moment, the lord jumped out, cut off the bridle and rushed home, dragging Kelpie with him. At home, a trap was prepared for the magical creature, into which the horse fell. The lord built an enclosure from a sacred tree, which had a wide entrance and a very small exit. Having lost his bridle, Kelpie could not return to the water and was forced to submit to the man.
The horse was carrying huge stones up high cliffs. Despite its incredible strength, the creature soon became weak, emaciated, and its shiny golden skin lost its attractiveness. The lord’s castle was built and became the best in Scotland and its surroundings. Returning the bridle to Kelpie, the lord said that no one would need the Horse in such an insignificant and pathetic form now and that he could return to his dull, wet home.
With the last of his strength, Kelpie went to the lake. Plunging into its native element, the creature cast a curse on the greedy Scot. As a result of this, the lord’s family died out, and his majestic, beautiful castle was left empty on lonely rocks.
Legends say that the mighty Kelpie could return to the water without his bridle, but never again would he be able to go to the shore of the lake in the guise of a beautiful Horse.
If a person is smart and careful, then when he encounters the mythical Kelpie on the shore, he will try to leave the area so as not to provoke anger and rage on the part of the creature. At such moments, the Horse, although he does not show much friendliness towards the guest, will not become angry. For the Scots, the Kelpie horse is the key to folklore. To this day, legends and myths about this amazing mythical creature are revered by every Scot.
And here we are in the Helix perk
Helix Park is home to the Kelpie House, the largest equestrian sculpture in the world, at 30 meters high, which is a true feat of engineering. Situated between Falkirk and Grangemouth , it was created as a place to bring communities together in the Falkirk area. Kelpies go a step further, bringing together not only people from different parts of Scotland and the UK, but also from all over the world. Tourists still flock to the places of worship and take the Kelpie story with them to spread the word internationally. The Kelpies have turned the area into a five-star tourist destination.
Helix is an exciting new park where you can enjoy activities such as cycling, walking, water sports and much more.
