The Falkirk Wheel is named after the nearby town of Falkirk in central Scotland. Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. The Falkirk Wheel is the only rotating boat lift of its kind in the world, and is regarded as an engineering landmark for Scotland. (Click to enlarge images)
The United Kingdom has one other boat lift: the Anderton boat lift in Cheshire. The Falkirk Wheel is an improvement on the Anderton boat lift and makes use of the same original principle: two balanced tanks, one going up and the other going down, however, the rotational mechanism is entirely unique to the Falkirk Wheel.
The difference in the levels of the two canals at the wheel is 24 metres (79 ft), roughly equivalent to the height of an eight storey building. On 24 May 2002, Queen Elizabeth II opened the Falkirk Wheel as part of her Golden Jubilee celebrations. The opening had been delayed by a month due to flooding caused by vandals who forced open the Wheel's gates.
The Falkirk Wheel Visitor Centre offers scheduled one-hour, round trip boat tours, called "The Falkirk Wheel Experience", that include passage on the wheel. The tours start below the wheel in the Forth & Clyde Canal, ascend via the wheel to the Union Canal, visit nearby areas on the Union Canal, and then return. As of 2008, the boat tour costs £8 for adults, £4.25 for children aged 3-15 (free for children under 3), OAP concession £6.50, student/UB40 concession £6.50, and family price of £21.50 (2 adults and 2 children) with a discount of 10% for a group of 20 or more.
The difference in the levels of the two canals at the wheel is 24 metres (79 ft), roughly equivalent to the height of an eight storey building. On 24 May 2002, Queen Elizabeth II opened the Falkirk Wheel as part of her Golden Jubilee celebrations. The opening had been delayed by a month due to flooding caused by vandals who forced open the Wheel's gates.
The Falkirk Wheel Visitor Centre offers scheduled one-hour, round trip boat tours, called "The Falkirk Wheel Experience", that include passage on the wheel. The tours start below the wheel in the Forth & Clyde Canal, ascend via the wheel to the Union Canal, visit nearby areas on the Union Canal, and then return. As of 2008, the boat tour costs £8 for adults, £4.25 for children aged 3-15 (free for children under 3), OAP concession £6.50, student/UB40 concession £6.50, and family price of £21.50 (2 adults and 2 children) with a discount of 10% for a group of 20 or more.