Why Is The Falkirk Wheel?
So, why was the wheel needed? Simply because the canals were at very different altitudes. In older days this problem would have been solved by a series of locks. However for a height difference this extreme it had originally required a set of no less than eleven locks. Passing through each of these in turn was a slow and frustrating process that would be unacceptable to river travellers today, especially those on commercial business. The Wheel replaces the eleven locks with one single boat lift. Boats enter either at the top or the bottom, then the wheel rotates and interchanges the upper and lower sections. This rotation is slow and the precise engineering ensures that the moving sections retain their horizontal alignment. The result is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. To get the full impact I’d suggest first watching the wheel work from the ground then actually experiencing it yourself. Hour long trips start from and return to the Visitor Centre and you can buy tickets for both in
