Yes, another post about canals! I promise this is the last. The Falkirk Wheel near Edinburgh was built quite recently, in 2002. It was supposed to be a "Millenium Project" but was completed slightly late. It is a huge rotating machine to lift or lower canal boats from a canal above to the one 24 metres below. Until 1933 the two canals were linked by a staircase of 11 locks which took about a day to get through. For many years the canal was closed, until the completion of the Falkirk Wheel allowed it to reopen.
 |
| One boat motors out along this channel into the top of the wheel... |
 |
| ..while another one enters the bottom. Then the wheel starts turning. |
These two Kelpies think the wheel is pretty special, obviously. These two are a small-scale reproduction of the much larger original sculpture nearby in Falkirk, which is 30 metres high.
 |
| Kelpie sculpture at the Falkirk Wheel |
We saw the huge versions as we sped by on the motorway last evening, but did not get a photo. Here's one I found online which shows how impressive they are:
