A tourism strategy based on a myth? The Falkirk area has benefited hugely from the magnificent Kelpies. A kelpie is a mythical shape-shifting spirit inhabiting the lochs of Scottish folklore – and Andy Scott’s sculpture pays homage to this as well as the role of working horses pulling barges along Scotland’s canals. Unveiled in 2014 the 30 metre high horses heads form a gateway at the eastern entrance to the Forth and Clyde canal, and the new canal extension built as part of The Helix Park land transformation project. Complementing the Kelpies is the Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift in central Scotland, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal.
Yet Falkirk has more to offer – heritage attractions such as Blackness Castle (a project our new director Laura Wakelin is working on), new cycling routes, and a new regional growth deal mean that Falkirk has both the ambition and opportunity to grow its visitor economy. That’s where we come in. Our role is to review the current strategy and identify market opportunities as we look beyond the pandemic and its wider impacts. From this – and with the input of partners and stakeholders – we’ll develop a new tourism strategy for new circumstances. We’ll be looking at best prospect markets, development needs and how to take full advantage of other strategies being pursued.
And of course we’ll thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to reacquaint ourselves with this too often overlooked area.
