Kelpies attract 15,000 visitors in first two months

Tours are offered 10 times a day around the sculptures near Falkirk

More than 15,000 people have toured the Kelpies sculptures in the two months since they opened.

In addition to the official tours, Falkirk Community Trust estimated 150,000 people had visited the site just to see the 98ft-tall (30m) horse heads.

The Kelpies were created by artist Andy Scott as part of the £43m Helix parkland project near Falkirk.

The £5m sculptures opened to the public on 21 April.

People have travelled from Australia, the USA and throughout the UK to tour the Kelpies, which were inspired by the tradition of working horses on Scotland's canal network.

The community trust is running 10 Kelpies tours a day and Helix team leader Grant MacKenzie said they were "delighted" with the reception the artwork had received.

He said: "The reaction in the first two months of the tours becoming available has been absolutely tremendous and the numbers are hugely encouraging as we approach our first summer holiday season.

"We have been working closely with our tour guide team to ensure everyone visiting The Kelpies experiences the drama and scale of the structures and understands the relationship they have with the Falkirk and Grangemouth areas."

Each Kelpie statue weighs 300 tonnes and is made from thousands of pieces of steel

More than 600 tonnes of steel was used in the construction of the Kelpies and more than 10,000 special fixtures are used to hold them together.

They stand next to the M9 motorway as well as the Forth and Clyde canal, an extension to which is to link to the North Sea and open up inland waterways to more boating traffic.

It is hoped 350,000 tourists will visit the area each year, bringing in £1.5m of extra revenue to the area.

VisitScotland chairman Mike Cantlay said: "These towering sculptures are a dramatic addition to the landscape, attracting visitors from far and wide and providing real economic benefits to the local communities.

"With Scotland welcoming the world this year I'm certain that they will continue to be a major draw for visitors in 2014 and beyond."