The Falkirk Wheel
The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift in central Scotland, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. The lift is named after Falkirk, the town in which it is located. It reconnects the two canals for the first time since the 1930s. It opened in 2002 as part of the Millennium Link project.
The plan to regenerate central Scotland's canals and reconnect Glasgow with Edinburgh was led by British Waterways with support and funding from seven local authorities, the Scottish Enterprise Network, the European Regional Development Fund, and the Millennium Commission. Planners decided early on to create a dramatic 21st-century landmark structure to reconnect the canals, instead of simply recreating the historic lock flight.
The wheel raises boats by 24 metres (79 ft), but the Union Canal is still 11 metres (36 ft) higher than the aqueduct which meets the wheel. Boats must also pass through a pair of locks between the top of the wheel and the Union Canal. The Falkirk Wheel is the only rotating boat lift of its kind in the world, and one of two working boat lifts in the United Kingdom, the other being the Anderton Boat Lift.
In August of 2019, I had the privilege of being part of a group of 21 geocachers who toured Scotland prior to attending the "Aberdeenshire UK Mega 2019" Mega event (GC7WEP4). During our travels, we visited many different locations, the Falkirk Wheel was one such stop during our tour around Scotland. This magnificent mechanical structure was quite the sight to witness in person, and I would highly recommend a visit to this location for anyone who visits Scotland. For more information on the Falkirk Wheel, simply search for it online, I'm certain you'll be fascinated with the information and videos you'll come across.
Information for this cache description has been partially gathered from the following source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falkirk_Wheel
The Cache/Hide
This geocache has been hidden as part of a group of geocaches hidden for the "MiGO Winter Social 2020" event (GC8D63G). The cache itself is pretty straightforward, a regular-sized container hidden in a typical fashion. I've added a separate parking waypoint, just to simplify things, and to help prevent you from parking alongside the road. As always, please be mindful of muggles that might be nearby.