The Falkirk Wheel is the world's first and only rotating boat lift. It connects the Forth & Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. These two canals were the transportion arteries of the early industrial revolution in Central Scotland, but the move to transportation by road and rail caused them to fall into disuse.
Due to the topography of the area there's a very large height difference between these two canals at the point they connected, and in the days of the industrial revolution there were 14 Canal Locks here to move between the two. This often took barges a full day to make the connection. The Falkirk Wheel does it in 4 minutes, using an ingenious system operating on Archimedes principles of buoyancy and equilibrated weight. It lifts boats 35 meters with two water-filled, 600-ton gondolas on opposing arms, ensuring that the weight remains balanced, requiring only 1.5 kWh of energy per turn—roughly the same as boiling eight kettles.
The Falkirk Wheel opened in 2002 as part of the Millennium Link project, reconnecting the two canals for the first time since the 1930s. It was a massive undertaking involving 1200 tons of steel, 14,800 bolts, and 1000 workers.
Tasks To Log The Cache
Standing at the published coordinates you get an idea of the sheer size of The Wheel and the scale of the challenge it faced of moving barges from the upper level of The Union Canal down to The Forth & Clyde Canal. This spot is a great place for a photo, and also to learn more about The Wheel.
To log this cache you have a photo task, and an info gathering task. The picture can be taken at the published coordinates, the info gathering task can be done at the given waypoint, about 30m to the south/south-east.
Task 1 - Take A Picture of yourself in front of The Wheel - Published Coordinates
Task 2 - Collect Info at the nearby Millenium Award Marker - N 56° 00.062′ W 3° 50.501′
At the Millenium Award Marker waypoint provided (30m south/south-east of the published coordinates), what is the date on the red and blue plaque?
Pictures for your answers must be photographs of course, not 'cartoon' pics like my example. If you don't want to do a selfie then a pic of just your hand/mascot/GPS in front of the Wheel at the published coords will do. You don't have to photograph yourself 'holding The Wheel in your hand' like my example pic, but it would be fun if you did, otherwise feel free to be inventive with your pic. Attach the photo to your log. Submit your info gathering answer to the CO via the app/website, before logging your find, and of course, don't mention the answer in your log. You don't need to wait for a response.
Virtual Rewards 5.0 - 2026-2027
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between February 3, 2026 and February 3, 2027. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 5.0 on the Geocaching Blog.