As we got closer and closer to Edinburgh, we dreaded the end of this epic trip. But there was one last stop before this all ends!
Our last stop of this trip was the Kelpies! The Kelpies, two beautiful horse sculptures, are located in Falkirk at Helix Park.
What are kelpies, you ask?
Well, a kelpie in Scottish legends is a shapeshifting spirit that is said to dwell in bodies of water (though whether they dwell in streams, rivers or lochs, has been debated through the years!) Kelpies are said to take the shape of a horse, sometimes equipped with a bridle already. But beware, its magical hide means the rider will be stuck on its back. Then the kelpie will ride back to its watery lair and devour the human on its back. 😲
There is one bright spot… If you are able to grab hold of a kelpie’s bridle, you will have power over it and may capture it. It is said that a captured kelpie is highly prized, for it has the strength of 10 horses and stamina of many more.
The Kelpies at Helix Park are considered the world’s largest equine sculptures. Although these sculptures are named after the mythological kelpies, they are actually dedicated to working horses and horse power which helped to shape central Scotland’s early industries – particularly the canal horses who used to pull barges along Scotland’s many canals.
Each Kelpie weighs more than 300 tonnes and stands 30 metres tall. It was also built on site in 90 days. Check out this video for a really cool time lapse of the construction!
Each Kelpie was based on a Clydesdale horse – a breed of working horse. Duke and Baron, the two model horses were on hand at the opening ceremony of the Kelpies on November 27, 2013.
Since this was our last stop on this tour, it was fitting for our OG 10 day group to take a group photo. And it is one of our favourites from the whole trip ❤
Taken from good ol’ Facebook
After admiring the Kelpies and stretching our legs, we headed back to the tour bus. Once there, we were informed that we would be making a stop at Edinburgh Airport as some people from this tour guide’s group had flights to catch. We weren’t aware that airport drop off was included in this tour! (Perhaps we should have asked for personal drop off service to our hostels! 😞) This really didn’t seem like the best use of our paid tour time… but guess it was a nice service for those who needed to get to the airport right away. (Even though we were told not to book flights or onwards travel plans immediately after the tour ends, in case of any delays in getting back to Edinburgh!)
After a stop at the airport, we approached Edinburgh. We neared Edinburgh nearly 2hrs earlier than our expected arrival time. (Not sure whether people’s departure times and subsequently timing of the airport stop affected our earlier arrival?! 😯)
Our group thought that this time could have been better spent with a longer visit at one of our earlier stops, seeing something else on our way back to Edinburgh or perhaps going on a walk or exploring an area – even if it was just exploring an area near Edinburgh like Dean Village or Portobello beach. But unfortunately we were dropped off back on the Royal Mile early and feeling like we hadn’t gotten the most out of Day 10. 😔
Unfortunately, in speaking with our groupmates, we all felt like the last part of our Compass Buster tour could have been better, especially compared to the first two tour guides we had and the first 7 days of our trip. Our last tour guide did not make an effort to get to know the people in his group. Of course, it was a large tour bus full of people by this point and we definitely didn’t expect him to know everyone by name or know our life history, but he stuck with the passengers who came out with him and really did not make an effort to get to know the rest of us who joined his group for Day 8. He also didn’t try to engage us in any of the activities he planned for his group. (On the other hand, Sergio, the bus driver, was friendly to all of us!) Some of the stops that we had on the last 3 days also felt like they could have been arranged better. Some felt like “filler” stops – just making a stop to kill some time and just for the sake of it. Some stops were repeats for us and there were other stops that we would have loved to see instead. And Day 10… making 3 visits, a stop at the airport and arriving into Edinburgh almost 2 hours early… it unfortunately just felt like we had wasted half a day, if not a full day of paid travel time and experience 😔
But such is life and we did have an amazing time travelling all over Scotland. There were places that I know we would not have visited, had we travelled on our own – places like the Outer Hebrides and the Orkney islands. We also managed to visit a lot of well known attractions like Eilean Donan castle, Portree, the standing stones at Callanish and the UNESCO world heritage sites in Orkney. We were really glad we went with the 10 day tour instead of the shorter ones. Even though there were some repeat stops, we are really happy we got to see all the varied landscapes of Scotland – from the islands (where each had its own personality), to the rugged highlands to the scenic lowlands. We would recommend taking the 10 day tour if you have the time and are interested in seeing many parts of Scotland. We know that HAGGiS has changed up their 10 day tour itinerary, so hopefully stops are arranged in a better manner.
After some time reflecting on our trip with our group mates, we pulled into Edinburgh. As we grabbed our backpacks and prepared to head back to our hostels, we made plans for that night to meet up with our OG 10 day squad and our new friends we met from Andy’s group for one last hurrah.
We headed back to Castle Rock Hostel, freshened up and got ready to go for dinner. A couple of us decided to meet up for dinner and after wandering the Royal Mile looking for a restaurant, we ended up at The Advocate. As a last tribute, I ordered the vegetarian haggis. (I think the haggis I had in Portree was better!)
After a yummy dinner, we headed to the Belushi’s Bar to meet up with the gang. There was a birthday to celebrate, drinks to be had, our trip to reminisce, Facebook info to be exchanged and shenanigans with waterguns and sunglasses to be had. We decided to go for a walk and explore Edinburgh at night. Let’s just say navigating the many stairs of Edinburgh was an adventure that night! 🤣 We wandered through Grassmarket, where we were regaled with crazy stories and legends – that had us laughing our heads off. We eventually ended up at The Three Sisters, where we met up with more friends – including M, we became friends whilst visiting Orkney! We managed to snag a section of the long tables outside in the courtyard for our group. One of the moments that was the most memorable was impromptu karaoke – especially when we all sang 500 Miles (Andy’s version) together!
Because blurry photos are the best ❤
Alas, all good things must come to an end and there were hugs all around as we parted ways. There was also some waterworks… 😭 once one person started crying, more followed – we must have gotten strange stares from the other patrons of the Three Sisters! There were also promises of future trips together. With most of us being from Canada and Australia – 2 cross country road trips would allow us to easily meet up for more adventures!
As our little group wandered back up to the Royal Mile, it was time for more goodbyes. There was more tears on the Royal Mile 😢 as we said another round of goodbyes and headed off towards our respective hostels and M headed home. But with the wonders of Facebook, we still happily keep in touch with M and our OG 10 day squad + honorary members.
And there you have it – the end of our 10 day Compass Buster Tour. What an amazing trip! We are so glad we decided to go with this tour and are so grateful for the experience and all the people we met!
We had one last day in Edinburgh and we were going to make the most of it with a little daytrip out to Queensferry!
Check back soon for more!
From Vancouver with Love,
Ioana and Natalie
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