The Kelpie of Loch Garve

The Kelpie of Loch Garve is one of the unusual stories where a Kelpie

showed a different side to their character and instead of being a monster

that brings death, it showed a softer, kinder side.

The story starts with a girl who was walking alongside Loch Garve on

the way home to her village. As she strolled beside the loch, she saw in

front of her a beautiful horse, its black coat shining in the sun and its

mane flowing like the water in the loch. The girl was overwhelmed by

how beautiful the stallion was and, against everything she had been

taught as a child, walked over to the horse.

The girl had grown up in the village beside Loch Garve and had heard

many times the stories and legends about the Kelpie, the water horse,

but so beautiful was the horse in front of her that all those stories slipped

from her mind like water, and she did not believe that a horse as

majestic as the stallion could ever mean harm to anyone. In fact, she

thought, it was most likely that the horse belonged to someone back in

the village and so she should probably return it to its owner.

With that in mind, the girl climbed onto the back of the large stallion

intending to ride back to the village. However, before she had the

chance to turn the horse towards home, it spun and ran into the loch.

The girl found herself attached to the horses back and even if she had

tried with all her might, she would not have been able to jump from its

back.

The stallion, which by now the girl had realised was not a normal horse,

dove deep into the loch and as he descended deeper, his shape began

to change. Gone was the beautiful black stallion and in its place was a

creature that was hideous to behold with numerous tentacles and eyes

that glowed as red as burning coal.

Now this is where the story takes a turn which would not be usual in the

tales of the Kelpies. What would be expected would be for the girl to be

terrified, and for the Kelpie to eat her, but that is not what happened.

The girl was not scared at all, she was in love! Yes, the lovely maiden

who was considered the most beautiful girl in her village fell in head over

heels in love at first sight with the hideous Kelpie. In return, the Kelpie

looked upon the girl and did not see his next meal; no, he saw the

woman he wanted to have for his wife! The Kelpie used his magic to

allow the girl to breathe underwater and, with no further ado, the pair got

married and for a while they lived together in blissful harmony.

The Kelpie’s home was deep in the loch, and if you know anything about

the British Isles, it is not always the warmest place to live on the surface

let alone deep down in a Scottish loch. The Kelpie was born in the loch,

and this was his home, his perfect environment. However, the girl was

cold and would shiver with no let up. The Kelpie returned to the surface

on occasion, to hunt for mortals to eat, but the girl never left, and she

was suffering greatly from the cold water.

The Kelpie, at first, could not understand why the girl was complaining

so much about his home but as time passed, he could see his beloved

wife becoming more and more unhappy and it worried him that she may

decide to leave the loch and return to the surface to be amongst other

mortals where the climate suited her better.

The Kelpie spent the night wondering how he could make his wife more

comfortable, and the next morning, he believed he had a solution to the

problem. He headed up to the surface and turned into a beautiful black

stallion, as was his habit when he was not in the loch. The Kelpie knew

about a builder who lived nearby, and that the builder had a reputation

for being the very best. The Kelpie used its hooves to stamp on the

hearthstone of the builder’s cottage until the builder came out to see

what all the noise was about. When he saw the beautiful horse standing

outside, he was entranced by it and climbed onto its back. He was

immediately stuck and could not get off.

The Kelpie set of toward the loch with the terrified builder helpless to

prevent it. The Kelpie jumped into the loch and descended down through

the cold dark water. The builder pleaded with god to save him, but the

Kelpie continued down deeper and deeper, and by some miracle, the

builder did not drown as most mortals would do when dragged down into

the water’s depths.

Once they reached the bottom of the loch and the Kelpie’s home, the

builder was released from its back. The Kelpie told the builder he would

not cause him any harm, or any harm to the man’s family, if he provided

the Kelpie with his skills. He also promised that on completion of the

task, he would ensure that the builder’s family were never without fish to

eat for the rest of his life.

The Kelpie asked the builder to construct a fireplace so that the Kelpie’s

wife would no longer suffer from the cold deep down in the loch. The

builder complied and built the fireplace. From the fireplace he built a

giant chimney that spiralled up through the loch toward the surface to

allow the smoke to travel as far away as possible from the Kelpie’s

home. The Kelpie was delighted with the fireplace and, true to his word,

took the man back up to his family. The Kelpie, although feared by the

people who lived near the loch, was true to his word and the man and

his family never struggled for food ever again.

The Kelpie’s wife loved the fireplace, and she was not able to stay warm

whilst living in the deep, icy waters with the Kelpie who she loved dearly.

It is said that in the freezing cold winters, when the loch ices over, there

is always one patch that does not freeze, and this is due to the heat

travelling up through the chimney from the fireplace which provides

warmth for the Kelpie’s wife.

The Kelpie and his wife were able to live together in happiness for the

rest of their lives.