The Falkirk Wheel...

In 2007 I found out about the Falkirk Wheel which is an engineering marvel in Scotland. It has replaced a number of locks and was a Millenium Project and opened in 2002.

It effectively joined up the Union Canal with the Clyde Forth Canal. The Union Canal is on a much higher level that the other canal , thus making it slow progress for boats using this waterway if using a more conventional lock system.

We were thrilled to learn that not only could this system be watched at work but that also hour long boat trips were offered which go through the Falkirk Wheel.

DH having a closer look...his wife has nagged about this thing for years! 

Boats enter the 'gondola' when the water has rushed in. The gates are shut behind, the boat is tied up and then the wheel starts to revolve and raise the boat and water filled gondola up 34 metres until it is at the level of the higher canal. 

The gondola carrying the boat starts to rise...

Two boats are at the top now...the returning one will be lowered and the one on the left will soon sail into the canal and will eventually continue on through to the tunnel and beyond...

I'm going to be a bit tricky here and add in photos I took from inside the boat along with the ones we took of the bait that left the hour before ours went.

So now we notice that our boat has gone rather higher...

Then the lock gates at that higher level are opened and the boat sails out of the gondola into the canal.

 There is a tunnel that the canal goes through and after the tunnel is the Union Canal. 

Here we are not far from the tunnnel's entrance...

The canal is much wider here but will narrow again at the tunnel...

Looking back at the Falkirk Wheel from the tunnel...

This is where the Union Canal joins the Clyde Forth Canal and where our boat tuns around...

Coming back to the wheel, we sail into the water filled gondola...

As our boat descends, we see the next tour 'going up'!

Going down!ook 

Look at the very appropriate name of the boat DH and I went on...

This was James, our lovely guide and captain. Peeping out of his coat is the ship's 'rat'. A little girl who was very scared was given the rat to look after during the tour...it worked, she was fine!

So after 7 years of yearning to see the Falkirk Wheel in action, I did even better...I got to ride through it! Great experience, great memories! 

Want to know more? Here's is just one link.  

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