Sixty-foot-tall metal horse head sculptures, the world’s only rotating boat lift, and the home of golf. What do these 3 things have in common? They can only be found in Scotland.
Scotland. Stop #3 on our overseas adventure. Flying from Dublin to Edinburgh, Brady and I will be picking up a rental car and driving up to St. Andrews for a night. Along the way, we will be encountering giant horse head sculptures and one very cool rotating boat lift.
Outside the town of Falkirk, one will find two giant horse head sculptures rising from the ground. These sculptures are known as The Kelpies. These sculptures were designed by sculptor Andy Scott and are each made with 300 tons of steel.
Why the random horse heads? “The Kelpies represent the lineage of the heavy horse of Scottish industry and economy, pulling the wagons, ploughs, barges and coalships that shaped the geographical layout of the Falkirk area,” (Wikipedia).
Fun Fact: The Kelpies park was opened to the public in 2014.
If that wasn’t weird enough, the next stop along the way may take the cake.
Behold the Falkirk Wheel, the world’s only rotating boat lift.
Named after the nearby town of Falkirk, the wheel is used to connect the Forth & Clyde and Union canals. Prior to the wheel being created, the Forth & Clyde and Union canals were linked by a staircase of 11 locks that took nearly a day to transit. After the wheel was built, the transit now takes just 60 minutes to get through.
Fun Fact: The Falkirk Wheel is 35 meters tall, the equivalent of 8 double-decker buses stacked on top of each other.
You can watch a video on how the Falkirk Wheel operates below!
Finally, we will arrive in St. Andrews! The main reason for coming to St. Andrews is to tour part of the Old Course, one of the oldest golf courses in the world, and host to the Open Championship each year. Every big name golfer has played this course from Tiger Woods to Jack Nicklaus. Little does Brady know, I will be booking us a guided tour of the 1st, 17th, and 18th holes of the Old Course followed by lunch at the Swilcan Restaurant at the Links Clubhouse. Accommodations for the night will the Fairmont St. Andrews.
Fun Fact: The Old Course at St Andrews is considered by many to be the “home of golf” because the sport was first played on the Links at St Andrews in the early 15th century.
Our plan is to visit places such as St. Andrew’s Cathedral, St. Andrew’s Castle, and Martyr’s Monument upon arrival, then the following day tour the Old Course before making our way back to Edinburgh for 4 days.
I think I am the most excited for this part of the trip just because I cannot wait to see Brady’s reaction when I tell him we are touring the Old Course.
Thank goodness he doesn’t read my blog…
So, what else is on the do-not-miss list in St. Andrews? And, as always, what are some good places to eat?
Rhinestones & Luggage 
I go to St Andrews University and so my food recommendations are for something casual Blackhorn on Church Street – the burgers are unbelievable! For something a little more fancy try The Adamson on South Street – it’s a Michelen Star restaurant so it won’t disappoint!
Oh you’re amazing!!! Thank you tons for your input!
Great Post Mz. Nichols… !! Good job on this article! I really like how you presented your facts about Boat Lifts and how you made it interesting and easy to understand. Thank you.
Thank you for stopping by!