Bill Potter and I are part of a GoAhead Tour called “Edinburgh and the Castles of Scotland,” a nine day tour which begins in Glasgow and ends in Edinburgh. Today’s first day on tour included a walking tour, an art museum, and a cathedral, but to me, one of the most interesting thing we saw today was The Kelpies.

According to the website,

Standing at 100ft tall and weighing more than 300 tonnes each, the magical Kelpies are a man-made wonder and a feat of engineering. The works of art, created by artist Andy Scott, have become iconic on the landscape after being modelled on real-life icons of times gone by — Clydesdale horses Duke and Baron. 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 Falkirk.

The Kelpies’ name reflects the mythological transforming beasts that possess the strength and endurance of 100 horses; a quality that’s analogous with the transformational change of the area’s landscapes, endurance of its inland waterways and the strength of its communities

What I found most interesting was not only the sculpture itself, but that our tour director told us that there are speakers inside which blast out the birdsongs of aggressive birds! They don’t want birds of any kind to build nests inside the structure because of all the mess they cause with their poop!

In the morning we tried to go into Glasgow Cathedral but because there was a funeral of a notable person, we could not enter.

I did find photos of the interior online and am sorry we weren’t able to go inside.

While I was disappointed not to look at the organ, we did see an instrument at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

The organ was originally commissioned as part of the Glasgow International Exhibition in 1901. It was then moved to become the central feature at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. The organ was constructed by Lewis & Co. and contains 2889 organ pipes. There is a daily organ recital at 1:00 pm which I would have liked to hear but because we had to be back on the bus at 12:45 pm, it wasn’t possible to hear the instrument. Bummers!

Last night was the Welcome Dinner at the Red Onion restaurant, only a few blocks from our hotel. My flight from London was delayed and I arrived late to the restaurant. It still was delicious!

Today, July 15th, would have been my 46th wedding anniversary, which means that it’s been 9 years since my husband died. Can you believe it’s been that many years? It many ways it seems like it’s only been yesterday. Tomorrow morning we will leave Glasgow and will travel to the Scottish Highlands.