Falkirk Wheel

The Falkirk Wheel is the only fully rotating boat lift in the world. The wheel was built as part of the £85.4m Millennium link project to reunite the Forth and Clyde and Union Canals in Scotland. The canals had previously been linked by a staircase of 11 locks which took nearly a day to pass through. The locks were dismantled in 1933.
The wheel uses 2 gondolas which raise boats by 24m. As the Union Canal is 11m higher than the aqueduct at the top of the wheel, boats then go through 2 locks to reach the canal.
Before the Falkirk Wheel was constructed it wasn’t possible to get from the Union Canal to the Forth and Clyde by boat. It now takes about 10 minutes for a boat to be lifted from the Forth and Clyde to the aqueduct 24m above that leads to the Union Canal.
To learn more about the Falkirk Wheel click here: www.ice.org.uk...