The Falkirk Wheel - Scotland

...my sister, which was on the Llangollen canal. From then on our family were hooked on canals. I enjoyed the peaceful countryside as we glided along the canal at about 4 miles an hour admiring the wild life and being enchanted by a kingfisher which accompanied us for quite a distance. We have since had many canal holidays all over Great Britain, although I do admit to not liking the responsibility of steering the really long narrow boats!

...in Scotland and belong to the canal society, although we no longer take such an active part as we used to. As some of you may not know much about canals I feel a little history lesson bubbling up and hope you will bear with me.

*The Canal Story*

The Union canal was one of the last to be built, and strong competition from the Railways shortened its profitability. It originally ran from Lothian Road in Edinburgh to Lock ... more

One beautiful sunny afternoon we climbed aboard a small cruiser belonging to my sister, which was on the Llangollen canal. From then on our family were hooked on canals. I enjoyed the peaceful countryside as we glided along the canal at about 4 miles an hour admiring the wild life and being enchanted by a kingfisher which accompanied us for quite a distance. We have since had many canal holidays all over Great Britain, although I do admit to not liking the responsibility of steering the really long narrow boats!

We are very fortunate to live close to the Union Canal in Scotland and belong to the canal society, although we no longer take such an active part as we used to. As some of you may not know much about canals I feel a little history lesson bubbling up and hope you will bear with me.

*The Canal Story*

The Union canal was one of the last to be built, and strong competition from the Railways shortened its profitability. It originally ran from Lothian Road in Edinburgh to Lock 16 on the Forth and Clyde canal, a distance of 31.5 miles or 50 kilometres. It was built on the 260ft. contour line and was opened in 1822 in order to provide a route for supplying coal, sandstone and cobbles to the fast growing population of Edinburgh. Because it is a contour canal it remains on the same height and does not have any locks, a tunnel had to be driven through a hill near Falkirk and there are also 3 major aqueducts built across river valleys. These are worth a visit! The Avon aqueduct (pronounced AVE – ON) is the second highest in GB, and is 247 metres long and 26 metres high with 12 large arches. The Slateford in Edinburgh and also the Almond which is can be seen from the M8. Life became faster, and eventually canals for transporting goods was not viable, sadly the canal was classed as a remainder waterway in 1965 and managed by British waterways.

But although I say sadly it became a place for leisure pursuits for local people and it is now used by boaters with the paths frequented by dog walkers, walkers and cyclists. There are trip boats run by canal societies, people row and canoe, and at Ratho there are commercial boats where you can cruise and dine, or even be married on a boat. There is also access on a boat for disabled passengers.

But today I want to focus on the Falkirk wheel.

*The Millennium Link*

The project was given the above name as it created a direct waterway link between Edinburgh and Glasgow. The aim was to encourage canal side development and leisure activities across the Central belt. When the canal was not in regular use, the locks deteriorated and the canal was cut in half by the M8 and flowed through pipes to continue its way to the capital. This very ambitious scheme went ahead, against a lot of odds and both the Forth and Clyde canal which is 61km long and the Union canal 52km were both refurbished, and after a 70 year connection gap, the link was made with the Falkirk Wheel.

*The Wheel*

It is much more than just a boat lift, it is a modern sculpture and a wonderful piece of engineering. The wheel has been likened to double headed Celtic axes, or a whale’s rib cage and even huge propellers of a Clydebank built ship. But the wheel is unique and a gentle ride on this beats white knuckle rides at theme parks for me any day!

The designer’s worked on several ideas, they had to raise boats from the Forth and Clyde canal 35 metres up to the Union Canal. They talked about tilting tanks, funicular railways and giant seesaws!
But they eventually built a double staircase lock lowering the boats 7 metres from the Union canal to the holding basin, before entering a tunnel beneath the Roman Antonine Wall. The aqueduct runs 104 metres from the tunnel and leads into the upper gondola of the wheel. I bet you didn’t know we had gondolas in Scotland! Well these gondolas are glorified tanks, not elegant little boats! Up to four boats can be sealed into this space by tightly fitting flap gates and the five minute trip to the basin, 25 metres below is very smooth and quiet, giving people time to admire the views across to the River Forth or distant hills. Once in the basin there is another small lock lowering boats to the Forth and Clyde just 3 metres below.

The Wheel was built in Derbyshire and assembled there, it was then taken apart and 35 lorries carrying the sections travelled north where it was bolted together again and then lifted by giant cranes into place. There are 15,000 bolts and over 45,000 bolt holes, certainly a mammoth task putting this 1800 tonne wheel together which cost about £5 million, just a quarter of the overall budget of the complex.

*Turning the Wheel*

Now I have read about this and have seen explanations in the visitor’s centre, but my mind is not very logical – surprise, surprise! But I will try and explain briefly, and I will add photos (which may take me sometime) so you can get a better idea what I am describing. There are 10 hydraulic motors around a fixed plate behind the axle, as the outer ring of teeth on each motor rotates, it engages with similar teeth on the axle rim, turning the axle and with it the entire wheel. One half revolution moving the boats between the two canals takes less than 5 minutes. Although loading and un loading takes longer. Each 50 tonne gondola contains 250 tonne weight of water and boats, and the perfectly balanced wheel needs only 1.5kW hours of electricity, costing just a few pence, about the same power as 6 kettles would use. A fact which I find amazing. The clever bit is that the 25 metre long gondolas always remain horizontal.

Question. Have you understood what you have read? If there are four boats in one gondola and none in the other, the wheel will be un-balanced and won’t turn. True or False?
It is false. Each boat displaces its exact weight of water, as in Archimedes’ principle, so each gondola will transport 250 tonnes, whether it is made up of boats and or water.

There are special steel gates at both ends of the gondolas with rubber seals. The whole procedure is computer controlled, and is so clever that it can predict a slight difference and can take preventative action. Explaining why we got held up on our last visit whilst the computer sorted things out!

The driver welcomes you aboard and gives a brief history whilst waiting for the gates to seal. The trip takes about 45 minutes, including going through the tunnel. They are very safety conscious at all times.

*The Visitor’s Centre*

The centre is a strange almost segment shaped building in glass, giving great views of the Wheel. It has a café, shop and toilets plus displays, although these being hands on were the worse for wear when we made a return visit this summer. As the sun was beating down the displays were hard to see and the heat was almost unbearable, but we were lucky as we had a lovely day to enjoy walking along the canal. There is a separate office on site to book holiday cruises, and it is possible to hire bikes to cycle along the canal. It was opened by HRH the Queen in May 2002.

Sadly there is a parking charge of £2.00 for the large car parks, which when added to the charges for the wheel makes a visit quite expensive for families. But free to people displaying disabled badges. It is worth booking a trip as we had to wait over two hours the day we went, although they had just got two larger electric trip boats seating about 70 people. Coaches book up in advance and so do school parties so that can cause queues. Boats leave every 30 minutes.

There is an Irn Bru fun factory play area for children 5 – 14 year old, and a seating area for picnics. There is a canal basin educational trail too.

*Getting There*

From Edinburgh take the M9 west for Stirling and exit at junction 8, follow signs for the Falkirk Wheel. From Glasgow M80/A80 and follow signs. Trains run to Falkirk and buses run to the Wheel daily apart from a Sunday.

*Prices*

We visited in July and the prices are as follows, Adult £8 Child 5-15 £4, under 5 is free. Family ticket 2 adults/2 children £21. Concessions are £6. (Seniors are people over 60! Which caused a lot of hilarity in our family, as we decided we were the responsible adults and my husband was the senior citizen who paid the bill!) Admission to the visitor centre is free.

For more information visit www.falkirkwheel.co.uk or phone 08700 500 208 to book up to 5pm the day before you want to visit. Refunds are not made, and as they were running late the day we were there some people were getting cross, so only book if you are definitely going to be able to go!

*Conclusion*

It is a place for all ages, children can learn about canals and displacement of water whilst enjoying themselves. Adults can sit back and enjoy the views from the boat, or just sit with a coffee watching the marvel of modern engineering. Holidaymakers on boats can relax, enjoying an easier passage instead of working lots of locks. Nature lovers can watch the birds and find unusual flowers along the canal bank. Historians can remember the more sinister times when Burke and Hare transported bodies along the canal from the graveyards!

It is amazing. It has been well visited and is really awesome. Do go and see for yourself if you visit Scotland.

PS. The charges are based on 4 adults and 1 senior citizen, including parking and ice creams(it was a hot day!)
 

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