A Ride on the FALKIRK WHEEL

If we would have known how fun it was to ride the boat to the top, we would have done it months ago.

This is a step by step sequence of getting in to the ONLY rotating wheel in the WORLD.

It brings the boats from the Forth Clyde Canal up to the Union Canal which is a distance of 70 feet.

It is as tall as 8 double decker buses.

It took 1,000 construction workers to build it.

It can carry loads as heavy as 100 elephants.

It has 14,868 bolts.

It is 35 meters wide.

It was not built as a tourist attraction.

The trip takes 50 minutes to complete, going up and back.

If you wanted to travel on the canal from Falkirk to Edinburgh it would take 12 hours to complete.

As the top one goes down the Union Canal, the bottom boat arrives on the Forth Clyde.

This is the visitors center.

Views at the top.

Floating on the Union at the top.

View at the top.

Coming in to the wheel on top of the Union Canal.

The black gate about 1/4th down on the picture is five tons. It can hold back a 50 ton boat. Ours is only 30 tons. It made me feel better knowing that because it is the edge and down we went very gently. A Great sunny DAY.