On our drive home from the isle of mull, we made a quick detour to the village of Fallkirk in southern Scotland to visit their modern-art inspired, new-fangled riverboat lock, called the Fallkirk Wheel.
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| Fallkirk Wheel |
Until my sister made me watch Distant Shores (a boating docu-series), I had never even heard of a riverboat lock. Basically, back before there were trains and trucks, all supplies travelled by sea or river. If you have to go upriver, you use these engineered locks to help move you to higher ground. As boating became less of a method of transport for goods and more a sport / leisure activity, riverboat locks around the UK went into disrepair.
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| Boat waiting to be loaded |
By the 1930s, the riverboat lock in the town of Fallkirk was no longer in use. As a millennium project, Scotland wanted to re-establish a boat lock in Fallkirk, but one that was architecturally pleasing and the powers-that-be accepted designs from architecture firms from all over Scotland. The approved, winning design was built, and named the Falkirk Wheel based on the rotating wheel that simultaneously lifts one boat as it lowers another, much like a Ferris wheel.
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| Fallkirk wheel in action |
In the picture above, you can see the wheel in action. Truth be told, it was cool, but very, very slow. A thrill ride it is not, but interesting to see, nonetheless!
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