Edinburgh, Scotland: A day at the Falkirk Wheel

July 16, 2015

WE COULDN'T get thrilled by looking round castles, and the centre of Edinburgh is delightful but dedicated to tourists and their wallet.

So instead we spent our day off at the Falkirk Wheel, a train and taxi to see a modern engineering feat.

The story is that the Union canal and Forth and Clyde canal hadn't been connected since the 1930s. This didn't seem important for a long time but then the moment came, in 2002, that clever people found a way to do it. They built a giant tub, sailed the boat into it, then raised it the 24 metres needed by a revolving wheel.

In a way, it's self-justifying. Because it's there, people want to go through it. Or round it, whatever the appropriate term is. And we were among them.

The tub revolves between the upper and lower levels

The tub runs on wheels and turns with just a gentle hum

The tub lifts with the boat in it, lines up with the waterway above it, and the boat sails on

It still takes a couple of locks to make the final height but the two canals are now joined

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