Last time we visited Falkirk Wheel was the middle of winter; where the weather was too rotten for the wheel to be operating. We weren't too far, so had another go.
It took a while to get there. Falkirk has two stations and we chose poorly. That takes us to town, but there's still a bus ride to the wheel. The bus station, while well signposted, is no longer actually used for stationing buses, and hasn't been since 2018. Finally Flickums was easily distracted by charity shops.
Falkirk Whel is a rotary canal boat lift, used to connect the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal, some 35 metres higher. Once upon a time this was a series of locks. In the 20th century, canals fell into a decline, and the locks and lower canal were closed. In the 1990s there was a lot of interest in reopening canals and the Millenium fund was able to provide a decent amount of the funding. Rather than a series of locks, they built a lift. A big carousel designed to lift one boat while lowering the other. Archimedes principle ensures that the two gondolas are always the same mass as each other so it's really energy efficient.
We ate at the cafe, and went on a ride on a boat. Our vessel has the fitting name of Archimedes (the other is named Antonine, after the Roman who built the Antonine wall). There was a recording telling us about the history of the wheel, and the other interesting information, including the fact that the wheel takes as much power as just 8 electric kettles. The trip then took us through a rainbow lit tunnel under Roughcastle, into another lake, where it turns and heads back. On the way back it's possible, on a clear day, to see the Kelpies, but they're a long way away and not easy to see.
It was a nice trip. Good to finally see it in operation.
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flickums said to make sure I mention how pretty she is; so Flickums is as pretty as a picture of a very pretty peach.
It took a while to get there. Falkirk has two stations and we chose poorly. That takes us to town, but there's still a bus ride to the wheel. The bus station, while well signposted, is no longer actually used for stationing buses, and hasn't been since 2018. Finally Flickums was easily distracted by charity shops.
Falkirk Whel is a rotary canal boat lift, used to connect the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal, some 35 metres higher. Once upon a time this was a series of locks. In the 20th century, canals fell into a decline, and the locks and lower canal were closed. In the 1990s there was a lot of interest in reopening canals and the Millenium fund was able to provide a decent amount of the funding. Rather than a series of locks, they built a lift. A big carousel designed to lift one boat while lowering the other. Archimedes principle ensures that the two gondolas are always the same mass as each other so it's really energy efficient.
We ate at the cafe, and went on a ride on a boat. Our vessel has the fitting name of Archimedes (the other is named Antonine, after the Roman who built the Antonine wall). There was a recording telling us about the history of the wheel, and the other interesting information, including the fact that the wheel takes as much power as just 8 electric kettles. The trip then took us through a rainbow lit tunnel under Roughcastle, into another lake, where it turns and heads back. On the way back it's possible, on a clear day, to see the Kelpies, but they're a long way away and not easy to see.
It was a nice trip. Good to finally see it in operation.
flickums said to make sure I mention how pretty she is; so Flickums is as pretty as a picture of a very pretty peach.
