Print   Close

Scotland’s Falkirk Wheel

An extraordinary engineering feat

By Caroline M. Jackson

If you examine a map of Scotland, you will notice it has a “waistline” stretching between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Since the late 18^th century, this narrow part of Central Scotland was the site of two main canals.

The first, the Forth & Clyde Canal, opened in 1790 enabling boats to navigate the 35 miles between the River Clyde in Glasgow and the Firth of Forth at Grangemouth. The journey meant negotiating 40 locks and 32 swing bridges.

The second, the Union Canal, opened in 1822. It began in Scotland’s capital city of Edinburgh and followed a 31.5 mile contour canal above sea level to Falkirk. Here the Forth & Clyde Canal and the Union Canal met up and were connected by a ladder of 11 locks. Unfortunately, like the fate of many U.K. canals, the canal network went the way of the proverbial dodo bird and closed on New Year’s Day, 1963.

Fortunately the story does not end there. In the late 1990’s an interest was renewed in the use of the canals for leisure. The dream of the late 18^th century engineers was again to be realized – a sea-to-sea connection. In 1997, a substantial grant of money from The National Lottery to complete the restoration was approved by The Millennium Commission. Thus the idea of the Edinburgh - Glasgow Millennium Link project, the complete refurbishment of the Forth and Clyde Canal and the Union Canal, was launched.

One of the challenges facing the engineers was how to replace the ladder of 11 locks bridging the 150 ft. elevation between the two canals. While the time-consuming process of ascending 11 watery steps had been acceptable in previous decades, it certainly would not be workable in today’s fast-paced world. Thus the brilliant development of the Falkirk Wheel, the world’s first rotating boat lift.

Cost of the entire project was 84.5 million Pounds Sterling (about US $135 million) with the work being executed in less than two years. Officially opened by the Queen in May 2002, The Falkirk Wheel is roughly the height of eight double-decker buses (115 feet high) and lifts loads of 300 tons at each end – roughly the same weight as 40 to 50 adult African elephants.

Some visitors come and wander around the landscaped site or enjoy a snack at the state-of-the-art visitor center. However, it’s more fun to enjoy The Falkirk Wheel Experience. After purchasing our ticket inside the center, we were given a number assigned to us for a place in the next covered barge, which we would board in the Lower Basin. When our time came up (a one-hour wait), we were escorted aboard by Mike, our captain who had a wonderful sense of humor. First of all we were given the lowdown on safety and warned not to stick our heads or anything else over the sides.

Everything is worked out with perfect synchronization. As our boat was being gracefully hoisted upwards on one side of the boatlift, another vessel was gently being lowered downwards on the other side. Upon reaching the Upper Basin, we connected with the elevated Union Canal and sailed through the Roughcastle tunnel beneath the historic Antonine Wall.

Our return journey was the whole thing in reverse. Altogether the experience took about 45 minutes. A bonus for us was a slight delay while we waited in the Upper Basin. It was a gorgeous afternoon and the highlights of the surrounding countryside were identified by Mike Lennox who, as the Scots would say, had a great “gift of the gab.”