Falkirk Wheel

The Falkirk Wheel is the only rotating boat lift in the world. This feat of engineering stands at 115 feet (35 m) tall and, using the power of eight domestic kettles, transfers boats 79 feet (24 m) through the air between the Forth & Clyde Canal and the Union Canal. Boats must then ascend another 36 feet (11 m) through a pair of locks between the top of the wheel and the Union Canal. There is a visitor centre here with facilities and information on the Wheel.

The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift in Scotland, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. The lift is named after the nearby town of Falkirk in central Scotland. It opened in 2002, reconnecting the two canals for the first time since the 1930s as part of the Millennium Link project.

The plan to regenerate central Scotland's canals and reconnect Glasgow with Edinburgh was led by British Waterways with support and funding from seven local authorities, the Scottish Enterprise Network, the European Regional Development Fund, and the Millennium Commission. Planners decided early on to create a dramatic 21st-century landmark structure to reconnect the canals, instead of simply recreating the historic lock flight.

The wheel raises boats by 24 metres (79 ft), but the Union Canal is still 11 metres (36 ft) higher than the aqueduct which meets the wheel. Boats must also pass through a pair of locks between the top of the wheel and the Union Canal. The Falkirk Wheel is the only rotating boat lift of its kind in the world, and one of two working boat lifts in the United Kingdom, the other being the Anderton boat lift.

The ship's hoist compensates for the height difference of 24m and can lift 1800 tons. The Falkirk Wheel was opened on May 24, 2002 by Queen Elizabeth II on the occasion of her Golden Jubilee. The cost of the new project was £17 million.