Falkirk Wheel: Home of the Worlds Only Rotating Boat Lift.

In Scotland, there is a sight to behold! It's called The Falkirk Wheel. It's considered the most amazing engineering feat of the 21st century so far.

This is a boatlift, between two canals., the Forth and Clyde to the Union canal, in Central Scotland. The canals were connected by 11 locks before the giant wheel went in. It is named after the nearby town of Falkirk.

It can carry several boats at one time, and only takes about an hour to complete the trip on the wheel. However, if you use your own boat, it may a little shorter. It is advisable to book a trip ahead of time, as it is a popular attraction in Scotland. Even though it is a tourist attraction, it also serves a real purpose.

The Wheel is accessible by disabled users. It is wheelchair able, there are visitor instructions and facts about the Wheel in Braille, and closed captioned video's about it, for the deaf. In the Visitor Center, there is a Café and Gift Shop.

The Falkirk Wheel is about 110-115 ft tall, and weights about 600 tons. The Celtic double headed axe was the inspiration for the design of the wheel.

People get to the Wheel mainly by road instead of water. There are signs posted all over the Falkirk area for easy directions to the Wheel. The fee to the Visitors Center is free, and they have information on the Wheel, the history of it, and why it was constructed.

And if the Falkirk Wheel isn't enough in a day to do, you can always take a little walk to the Rough Castle Fort, a little over half a mile away.

How it works

The platforms on which the boat sit, rotate at the same speed as the big wheels, but just in the opposite direction to keep it level, and not fall out. On the ends of the platforms are smaller wheels that run on eight meter diameter holes on the ends, this allows it to rotate. The rotation is done by a series of gears and wheels in an alternating pattern.

The Cost

The Wheel was part of a bigger restoration project which cost 84.5 million British pounds. The Falkirk Wheel itself was about 17.5 million pounds. The Visitor Center at the Wheel has scheduled 1-hour round trip boat rides on the wheel, starting the base at the Forth and Clyde Canals. Then raising up via the wheel, to the Union Canal to visit nearby area's along the canal, then back again.

As of 2008, the ticket price to do the trip is 8 pounds for adults, 4.25 pounds for kid's, and children under 3, are free.

There is also a OAP concession of 6.50 pounds, family is 21.50 pounds, and a discount price of 10% for a groups of twenty or more people.

Sources:

Tourist Site
http://www.falkirk-wheel.com/

Wiki Article - More info

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falkirk_Wheel

Ticket info

http://www.thefalkirkwheel.co.uk/