Falkirk Wheel

The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift in Tamfourhill, Falkirk, in central Scotland. It connects the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. It opened in 2002 as part of the Millennium Link project. It is the only rotating boat lift of its kind in the world, and one of two working boat lifts in the United Kingdom, the other being the Anderton Boat Lift. The two canals used to be connected by a series of 11 locks but they were closed in 1933. The Union canal is 35-metre (115 ft) above the Forth and Clyde Canal. Much of the money came from the Millennium Commission. The wheel was built in Ripley, Derbyshire by Butterley Engineering and carried to Falkirk on 35 lorries. There are also a 160 m (520 ft) new canal tunnel of 8 m (26 ft) diameter, 2 aqueducts of 20 m (66 ft) and 120 m (390 ft), three sets of locks and a number of bridges. References