Falkirk Wheel

Falkirk Wheel Review

In 2002, British Waterways opened the Falkirk Wheel, the only rotating boatlift in the world, linking two major waterways, the Forth and Clyde Canal and the Union Canal, between Edinburgh and Glasgow. This extraordinary engineering achievement lifts and lowers boats using four giant wheels shaped like Celtic axes. The wheel transports eight or more boats at a time from one canal to the other in about 45 minutes. Boats float into a cradlelike compartment full of water; as the wheel turns, they're transported up or down to the other canal. The Falkirk Wheel replaced 11 locks that were once the only way of moving between the two bodies of water. Several companies offer excursions on the waterways; call ahead.