Canal boat hire and Narrowboat Timeshare Rentals in
the U.K.
The Falkirk Wheel
The Falkirk wheel is unique as the world's only rotating
boat lift. and stands as a magnificent piece of engineering designed to
link the Forth and Clyde Canal to the Union Canal. Lifting or lowering
the boats 79 feet (24m) to do so, and replacing 11 locks that were
closed in the 1930's.
It can carry boats up to 70 feet long (21.33m), 18 feet 8 inches wide
(6m), 9 feet (2.74m) tall and has a draught of 4feet 6 inches (
1.37m) and carry boats up to about 200mt, maybe a little more.
It opened on 24th May 2002
The diameter of the wheel is 35 metres (110 ft), made up
of of two opposing arms which reach 15 metres from the axle,
taking a shape reminiscent of a Celtic, double headed axe, giving the
overall impression of both function and sculpture in the same edifice.
Because the caissons ( troughs of water that carry the
boats) counterbalance each other it is also remarkably efficient taking
only 30.2hp to power the motors, consuming 1.5KWHrs every 4 minutes. A
electricity consumption of almost a domestic scale.
The choice of a boat lift for the site was necessitated
as the land for the original locks had been sold off and built on.
To
accommodate the wheel a new section of canal had to
be built, from the terminus at Port Maxwell, to the
wheel basin, having two locks to drop the canal to
the basin level.. The route also required the
construction of the 150 metre long Rough Castle Tunnel,
the newest canal canal to be constructed in the UK.
The cost of the wheel was £17.5 million , the overall
project costing £84.5million. ( £32 million from lottery
funds)
The visitors centre offers one hour round trips
including an ascent via the wheel
Costs:
Adults £8
Children aged 3-15 £4.25 for (free for
children under 3)
OAP concession £6.50,
student/UB40 concession £6.50
Family price £21.50 (2 adults and 2 children)
Discount of 10% for parties of 20 or greater
