Free New Year tours launched at The Helix

One of Scotland’s top five-star visitor attractions, The Helix, Home of The Kelpies, is launching free guided tours of The Kelpies, the world’s largest equine sculptures, to kick start the New Year starting on 4 January and running until 31 January.

Situated between Falkirk and Grangemouth, The Kelpies, standing at 30 metres tall and weighing over 300 tonnes each, were constructed as the focal point of The Helix Park in 2014.

The Kelpie tours will take place daily at 11.30am, 1.30pm and 2.30pm. The tours reveal the vision of artist Andy Scott for the sculptures which was influenced by both history and industry. Visitors can see these striking structures up close, learn about the complexity of the engineering process with the tour culminating in an exclusive view of the structures from the inside. The tours start from the Visitor Centre at The Helix; no pre-booking is required throughout the month of January but the tours will be available on a first come, first served basis.

The Helix, originally created as a space for the communities in the Falkirk area to come together, was awarded five-star visitor attraction status by VisitScotland and won the ‘Best Visitor Attraction Experience’ at the recent VisitScotland Regional Thistle Awards. Helix Park, which has a Green Tourism bronze award, is free for visitors, and offers significant amounts of green space and a wealth of things to do, including 27km of traffic free, wheelchair friendly, paths for walking, running, or cycling, an adventure zone playpark, splash play area and sensory play area. E-bikes are also available for hire on site. After exploring the Park, visitors can warm up in the Visitor Centre and take time to explore the delights of our gift shop.

Lesley O’Hare, Cultural Services Manager at Falkirk Council said: “We wanted to encourage people to get out and about this New Year and explore some of what Falkirk has to offer by offering free tours of The Kelpies, one of Scotland’s most iconic attractions.  We hope visitors will take the opportunity to learn more about the fascinating history behind these impressive sculptures and enjoy being outdoors, then warm up at our Visitor Centre which offers freshly prepared hot drinks and delicious seasonal produce. With everything that The Helix has to offer, it makes for an affordable, enjoyable day out for the whole family .”

The Helix Visitor Centre will be open on New Year’s Day, 2 and 3 January from 9.30am until 4pm. The Plaza Café will be open on New Year’s Day, 2 and 3 January from 11am until 3pm. Parking is available on site. Parking charges will apply.

To find out more about The Kelpies tours, please visit: www.thehelix.co.uk