Video není dostupné.
Omlouváme se.

The Falkirk Wheel - What is it? What's it for? And how did it come about?

Sdílet
Vložit
  • čas přidán 27. 06. 2023
  • The Falkirk Wheel, is the world's only rotating boat lift. But why is it so unique? Why is it so beautiful? And why is it needed?
    The Falkirk Wheel is a functional work of art that joins the Union Canal to the Forth and Clyde Canal, connecting waterways between Edinburgh, Falkirk and Glasgow.
    Follow my adventures as I travel through the landscapes and history of Scotland. I make quick, quirky and (hopefully) funny content about Scotland's past, people and scenery.
    I look for the hidden stories, forgotten people and beautiful scenery of Scotland and try to find the funny in the darkness, obscurity and occasional absurdity of our history.
    Follow my quest on social media:
    Instagram: @scotlandunplugged
    Facebook: scotlandunplugged
    TikTok: @scotlandunplugged
    Equipment used:
    Drone: DJI Mini 3 Pro Drone with Fly More Combo: amzn.to/3Jd6VlP
    Gimbal: DJI Osmo Smartphone Gimbal: amzn.to/3NsRcSq
    Mic: VideoMicro Compact On-camera Directional Microphone amzn.to/3X7VKk7
    Blue Snowball iCE USB Mic: amzn.to/3qvx2On
    Filmed on Apple iPhone 11
    Follow my adventures on social media:
    Instagram: @scotlandunplugged
    Facebook: scotlandunpligged
    TikTok: @scotlandunplugged
    For all opportunities, please contact rmgparker78@gmail.com

Komentáře • 141

  • @Sh4peofmyheart
    @Sh4peofmyheart Před rokem +29

    That is definitely the coolest (and most beautiful) boat lift I've ever seen! 😮

    • @scotlandunplugged
      @scotlandunplugged  Před rokem +5

      Best one I’ve seen too 🙂

    • @alanaw27
      @alanaw27 Před rokem +2

      It’s stunning. I live nearby an my daughter lives beside the canal. We’ve brought lots of visitors to see it and they’ve all been amazed. It’s possible to take a trip on a canal barge and go on The Wheel. I’d recommend it. The Kelpies are also well worth a visit.

    • @kevanparker908
      @kevanparker908 Před 11 měsíci

      Workshop where the Falkirk wheel was made. czcams.com/video/hry1mFBYsFg/video.html

  • @DawnaLeigh
    @DawnaLeigh Před rokem +12

    Unbelievable! I had no idea there was something like that in existence. If it weren't for you I would still be in the dark. Thank you for another incredible journey through Scotland ❣️

  • @suellenspencer-eb2nv
    @suellenspencer-eb2nv Před rokem +9

    What a great video. Love Scotland's history. You make it come alive. Thank you.

  • @shirleylaboy603
    @shirleylaboy603 Před rokem +10

    I live near the Erie canal in central NY. It has much the same history with the making of the canal to the horses pulling the barges. Today, it still remains open and used for recreational boating as well as some commercial shipping in certain parts. Thank you for sharing the history of your canal. 🙂❤️

    • @nataliegraham9552
      @nataliegraham9552 Před rokem +2

      I grew up in Central PA and remember we listened to the song '15 Miles on the Erie Canal' in school when we had one of our history lessons, I think some time in middle school back in the ancient days of the mid-1970's. 😊 I found a few versions of it, where else but on YT 😄
      czcams.com/video/JxKy1_c6DeM/video.html

    • @scotlandunplugged
      @scotlandunplugged  Před rokem +3

      I kept seeing info about the Erie canal when I was researching navvies. Seems to have been quite an undertaking! 😃

  • @kathleendolan2062
    @kathleendolan2062 Před rokem +5

    You are a joy to listen to. I love how you make history interesting. Thank you ❤️✌️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

  • @salchipapa5843
    @salchipapa5843 Před rokem +6

    This is so cool. I am increasingly motivated to visit Scotland thanks to your videos.

  • @samanthadillard2853
    @samanthadillard2853 Před rokem +3

    That boat lift thing at the end that is really really pretty and yes them horses are absolutely gorgeous

  • @lechatbotte.
    @lechatbotte. Před rokem +4

    I saw this wheel sometime back I thought it was so cool. We don’t have fun stuff like this so I’m living vicariously lol

  • @margaretkaraba8161
    @margaretkaraba8161 Před rokem +4

    Weirdy, the movement of the rotating lock reminds me of a sewing machine bobbin/shuttle hook mechanism (which I find beautiful as well).

    • @scotlandunplugged
      @scotlandunplugged  Před rokem +2

      Ah yes! My grandad grew up in a draper’s shop and was always on his singer sewing machine! Sure he’d approve! 🙂

  • @kimberlypatton205
    @kimberlypatton205 Před rokem +2

    I remember seeing this a few years ago in another video and being in awe then! But on top of your excellent backstory, As a retired horticulturist I just cannot get over the breathtaking beauty of Scotland!

  • @clairehislop5873
    @clairehislop5873 Před 10 měsíci +1

    The Wheel has always fascinated me, there's just something so majestic about it

  • @F1fan007
    @F1fan007 Před 4 měsíci

    Astounding engineering! What a great experience to get to take a ride on this. I remember going through the Dardanelle Lock system in Arkansas many years ago when I was in Boy Scouts. That was an amazing treat watching the gigantic lock doors open and shut for us. But this. Wow. The Falkirk Wheel is incredible. What a gorgeous Scottish engineering masterpiece.

  • @bobuncle8704
    @bobuncle8704 Před rokem +2

    That truly is a work of art

    • @scotlandunplugged
      @scotlandunplugged  Před rokem +2

      Would love to see more functional things designed that way 🙂

    • @bobuncle8704
      @bobuncle8704 Před rokem +1

      @@scotlandunplugged there’s a cool overland boat railway on the Trent-Severn river here in Canada. It’s lock 44 Big Chute marine railway. Started construction in 1917. Quite fascinating as well.

  • @cindyrissal3628
    @cindyrissal3628 Před rokem +2

    Dang, that thing is cool! Many kudos to the guy who came up with it. Much better than 44 gates & a whole day used up...

  • @lindaarmstrongjackman9788

    That is a beautiful lift lock. For decades I lived near the Peterborough Liftlock on the Trent-Severn Waterway in Ontario, Canada. Ours is somewhat less sculptural, is the highest hydraulic lift lock in the world, with a lift of 19.8 metres. It has two chambers and was constructed between 1896 to 1904. 😊🇨🇦

  • @elizabethghent194
    @elizabethghent194 Před rokem

    This the best video I have seen on You Tube for a long time, magnificent both history and visually. I watch many videos relating to Scotland and its history, how could have I missed your channel? Now I can spend my time catching up. Thank you so much. I am Scottish Canadian 81 years old. I have been on the Falkirk wheel it is amazing.

  • @bethotoole6569
    @bethotoole6569 Před rokem +2

    I must admit I am so envious. I live in the US where it seems almost impossible for things to be built with any kind of intrinsic beauty. We do big, we do innovative, we don't do beauty very well though.
    Multiple decades ago I lived in Belgium. It was the first time I'd seen a canal in real life. Often still pulled by horses,, the barges seemed quaint. It was years before I truly understood the importance of them.
    They are quaint, and beautiful, and they were enormously important to the growth of their economies. Especially during the war.. I made friends with a woman whose husband ran a barge during the war... terrifying, heroic, yet to an outsider still very quaint.
    I envy where you live,, I appreciate that you are sharing that beauty.
    Oh yeah,,,, bring on the death!!!

    • @scotlandunplugged
      @scotlandunplugged  Před rokem +1

      😂 Death soon. Kilts first! Must admit, most of what we build is pretty functional. Even if I look at old street lamps in town I’m staggered by how full the new ones are. Never thought about barges during the war. Makes sense though!

    • @bethotoole6569
      @bethotoole6569 Před rokem +1

      @@scotlandunplugged
      The older I get the more I believe in form over function!!
      She told me a story about him hiding two downed pilots in the piles of coal he was transporting on his barge. They got boarded,, but they didn't find them. He got them to the next transfer point.. they both made it.
      One came back to visit years after the war. He didn't tell her until after the war ended. She said she suspected it but never asked. He helped a lot of people.
      It was a very different time...
      History is filled with death! And kilts!!

    • @scotlandunplugged
      @scotlandunplugged  Před rokem

      @@bethotoole6569 That's a good story! Can only imagine the tension!

  • @seuchengaul77
    @seuchengaul77 Před rokem +1

    one of the best closing sentences ever!

  • @sharonm3677
    @sharonm3677 Před rokem +1

    Wow! Can you imagine back in that time period the brains it took for such a thing to even be built and work! Absolutely incredible to see the modern version of the boat lift. What an incredible intellectual work of art!

  • @Emma-Jayne
    @Emma-Jayne Před rokem +1

    Truly amazing piece of engineering there. All that work from one functional turn! Bloody brilliant ❤

  • @nurmaybooba
    @nurmaybooba Před rokem

    This is amazing! Brings pride to my bit of Scottish blood.

  • @megkiely0128
    @megkiely0128 Před rokem +2

    That is the coolest invention ever! We have old locks here in Virginia… same thing happened here, once railroads came the river boat traffic ceased.

    • @scotlandunplugged
      @scotlandunplugged  Před rokem +2

      The Union Canal is five minutes from my front door. Great for leisure these days, but I can remember when it was a bit of a wasteland. Good to see these things come back 😄

  • @donsland1610
    @donsland1610 Před rokem

    Visited and rode the wheel last year on a trip to Scotland. An amazing experience made all the more enjoyable by the wonderful staff.

  • @kimberlythegamer308
    @kimberlythegamer308 Před rokem +2

    Awesome video as always and I love how more information about past videos gets weaved into new videos and continues the story

    • @scotlandunplugged
      @scotlandunplugged  Před rokem +2

      Thank you! It’s usually a case of stumbling across something 😂

  • @midgetuley4262
    @midgetuley4262 Před rokem +1

    So amazing and beautiful!.

  • @patriciamccormack7626Teashee

    Amazing Robert 😎, I never knew about this fantastic wheel and that's why I love your videos 👍 I've learned so much from you 👍 Thank You ❤

  • @wendywhite4537
    @wendywhite4537 Před rokem +1

    Beautiful!

  • @zainulabdin1720
    @zainulabdin1720 Před rokem

    Love ❤ Scotland ❤. From Dubai ❣️ thanks for video 😊 scotland is my Dreamland:

  • @barbridingsTheResinator
    @barbridingsTheResinator Před rokem +1

    How cool is this !? I had no idea this existed. Very cool video. 😮🧐🤓

  • @carleemckaskill6026
    @carleemckaskill6026 Před rokem +1

    Absolutely fascinating as always ❤

  • @mickeyh53
    @mickeyh53 Před rokem +1

    I’ve always been fascinated by canals in both the UK & France..I subscribe to a few channels on CZcams regarding this subject..I’m drawn to the laidback lifestyle & the easy on the eye countryside..thank you Robert great video mate! 🇦🇺

    • @scotlandunplugged
      @scotlandunplugged  Před rokem

      Thanks, Michael! I love the fact the Union Canal runs right past my house. It means I can be running through countryside in a bout 15 minutes, and also that there are no hills! I’m tempted by a canal boat holiday but think my kids might get cabin fever! 😂

  • @junesmith852
    @junesmith852 Před rokem +1

    Hello from Perth Scotland...the hoof gp sent me hahaha ❤ so excited to watch all your video's as i love Scottish history ❤

  • @lindasworld5238
    @lindasworld5238 Před rokem +1

    This is so very cool! And I love how your videos sometimes tie in with each other, giving us more of the bigger picture.

  • @alicegamble6145
    @alicegamble6145 Před rokem +1

    Amazing. Thanks for sharing.

  • @ladyintheskyuk
    @ladyintheskyuk Před 8 měsíci

    Fantastic history and a brilliant production. Loved it. Thank you very much. 😊

  • @hettyscetty9785
    @hettyscetty9785 Před rokem +1

    My fiancé stays two minutes away from the falkirk wheel, we've been together for four years and I've still not been up to it, although I've seen it when coming out the street. However, he thinks its just a glorified boatlift because its something he's seen everyday since he was a child. But I kind of like the way this video sort of makes the story behind it seem romantic.

  • @camerongibson6342
    @camerongibson6342 Před rokem +1

    Great video Robbie, have never been to the Wheel but will go after watching your video

    • @scotlandunplugged
      @scotlandunplugged  Před rokem +2

      Thanks Cameron. Well worth a visit. You can take a boat trip but I ran out of time 😂

  • @kd0r
    @kd0r Před rokem

    My wife and I did both canals in '07. The lift was of course the peak experience of that trip. At that point the Kelpies were not yet built.

  • @angicatron8512
    @angicatron8512 Před rokem +1

    Very cool!!

  • @whiskeycook3323
    @whiskeycook3323 Před rokem +1

    Thanks for another great video

  • @amwelty
    @amwelty Před rokem +1

    Amazing! Well done.

  • @JamieE76
    @JamieE76 Před rokem +1

    That's pretty cool. :)

  • @KnitWitch
    @KnitWitch Před rokem +1

    That is beautiful! For someone who hates heights, you sure put yourself up there a lot 😅

  • @janicerudeen210
    @janicerudeen210 Před rokem +1

    Really enjoy your videos....I've learned so much.

  • @kimfleury
    @kimfleury Před rokem

    Having worked as a cook on cargo vessels both on the inland rivers and the Great Lakes, I've spent a good deal of time in locks. I thought that was an engineering marvel in itself, but the Falkirk Wheel is spectacular.

  • @Hailstonepie
    @Hailstonepie Před rokem +1

    Thank you honey much appreciated, always wanted the history on this, so want a go on the wheel.

    • @scotlandunplugged
      @scotlandunplugged  Před rokem

      It’s definitely worth seeing. You can do a tour on a boat and go up in the wheel 🙂

    • @Hailstonepie
      @Hailstonepie Před rokem

      Wicked, thank you.

  • @IamGulzow
    @IamGulzow Před rokem

    Now that is awesome. I would love to ride a tour boat through that. Almost makes Snotlad seem worth visiting, almost.

  • @ouarkie
    @ouarkie Před rokem

    That’s awesome. Never knew anything like this existed. Thank you for posting!

  • @deniseatkins9407
    @deniseatkins9407 Před rokem +1

    Amazing piece of engineering

  • @momnoah5
    @momnoah5 Před rokem +1

    That's awesome. Engineering at its best.

  • @barbaracarlsen6475
    @barbaracarlsen6475 Před rokem

    That is incredible!

  • @stephenoran2019
    @stephenoran2019 Před rokem

    This was amazing! I love that wheel. I have seen a few videos about it, but nobody every really got into the canals and all that! Good job! Thanks for this!

  • @alrawi5308
    @alrawi5308 Před rokem

    Truly amazing

  • @barbarah-p8661
    @barbarah-p8661 Před rokem

    Very cool. that is amazing.

  • @anthonyjancek2774
    @anthonyjancek2774 Před rokem +1

    Great channel!! I was sent here from your brother's channel The Hoof GP

  • @nadinedeeren9861
    @nadinedeeren9861 Před rokem

    That's freaking AWESOME!!! I have got to take a trip to Scotland.

    • @scotlandunplugged
      @scotlandunplugged  Před rokem

      It’s not bad (you can take a boat trip that goes on the wheel) 🙂

  • @mtrn8
    @mtrn8 Před rokem

    The canal, lock, basin and tunnel to the wheel was right behind my house when i lived there. Used to go to the irn bru kids play. park. Moved a few years ago.

  • @joanne85201
    @joanne85201 Před rokem

    Wow, amazing!

  • @janetmackinnon3411
    @janetmackinnon3411 Před 6 měsíci

    Interesting--thank you.

  • @patsymartin3634
    @patsymartin3634 Před 11 měsíci

    I'm impressed wow that's fascinating

  • @jamesparkersculpture
    @jamesparkersculpture Před rokem +1

    Brilliant - imagine if the navvies could see that!

    • @scotlandunplugged
      @scotlandunplugged  Před rokem +1

      Would probably blow their minds. You have to wonder what they were thinking about as they dug…

  • @jillcrowe2626
    @jillcrowe2626 Před rokem

    Modern buildings in San Diego are made just like a Lego building that you built when you were a child. Entire floors can be used as open spaces or as individual offices, or a combination of both. The elevators are fixed in place, as is the plumbing.

  • @jodifinnegan4453
    @jodifinnegan4453 Před rokem

    Amazing!! 👍🏼

  • @goossensmarianne5940
    @goossensmarianne5940 Před 10 měsíci

    ❤❤❤ Genius!!

  • @catsandcrafts171
    @catsandcrafts171 Před rokem +1

    Well! I never knew that's what a 'navvie' was!!! Heck! I thought a navvy was just any old labourer kind of job!

  • @Nrscathy60
    @Nrscathy60 Před rokem

    I love the history, but I'm a visual learner. Like this clip, you show a map. Show more map in your videos to give me ( and others) an idea of where you are. Thanks!❤

  • @junesmith852
    @junesmith852 Před rokem

    I was brought up in a little village called Dunning in perthshire...lot's of history but 1 i remember is the grave of "Maggie Walls" last women to be burnt as a witch in Scotland..Dunning has a historical society if you would be interested in checking it out. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🤔

    • @scotlandunplugged
      @scotlandunplugged  Před rokem +1

      That’s an interesting story. I need to do something on James the 6th, amateur daemonologist! 🙂

  • @LeesaDeAndrea
    @LeesaDeAndrea Před rokem

    I never would have guessed that's what it was. I was guessing it was some kind of flood control contraption.

  • @koriw1701
    @koriw1701 Před rokem +2

    Is there any foot traffic on the lock? I'm guessing that there isn't but what it would be a wonder to see up close! How close can pedestrians get to the lock?

    • @scotlandunplugged
      @scotlandunplugged  Před rokem +2

      You can use some if them, but in this stretch they have people opening and closing them. There were fences around the lock I filmed (was pretty deep) 🙂

  • @kevanparker908
    @kevanparker908 Před 11 měsíci

    There are photographs of the side of the Falkirk wheel lying in the workshop on the internet but they cannot be copied or shared sadly.

  • @robertacomstock3655
    @robertacomstock3655 Před rokem

    1.5 kWatt - hours would boil 8... tea kettles?
    Kettle isn't a standardized unit in Missouri. I first imagined a witch's cauldron, but ran it through my "ear buffers" (a technical term I borrowed from printer buffer) again & recalled the kettle commonly mentioned in UK is somewhat smaller.
    So, "mental" is the efficiency, then?

  • @petercurrell9344
    @petercurrell9344 Před 6 měsíci

    I've been in meny boat lifts oner the last 62 years but this one is strange. Instead of going up you your boat water and tank moves sideways when you expected to rise.

  • @justalad9688
    @justalad9688 Před rokem

    I stay 5 minutes away from the Falkirk wheel 😁

  • @herstoryswitness
    @herstoryswitness Před 7 měsíci

    Wow! America's Erie canal has the same history except...we still have lock masters. Can we borrow some engineers from Scotland?

  • @Man_fay_the_Bru
    @Man_fay_the_Bru Před rokem

    It’s actually there to lift the kemlin young team up to tamfourhill to batter there young team

  • @kevanparker908
    @kevanparker908 Před rokem

    Made at the Butterley Company near Ripley Derbyshire England then transported by road to Scotland, The firm who also built St Pancras station London founded by Benjamin Outram

  • @markthomasson5077
    @markthomasson5077 Před 2 měsíci

    I live not far away, always thought this was a vanity project and a waste of money.
    I have yet to see a craft going between the two canals.
    …but what is amazing is that it has become a money earning tourist attraction, with punters going up and down in the tourist barges.
    Ps. Those ears actually serve no function

  • @graememckay9972
    @graememckay9972 Před 5 měsíci

    What's it for? It was to join two canals without the need for lots of locks but now it's just a money maker for Scottish canals because I think they stopped boats from using it unless it was the tour boats that go from the bottom basin up the wheel to the top basin and back again.

  • @mschoy1597
    @mschoy1597 Před rokem +1

    Can you go over why words are pronounced the way they are? My only inclination is that the English language changed over time and you've kept the old pronounciation even though the spelling may have changed. For instance, you say "E-din-ba-ra" when it is spelled "Edinburgh".

    • @scotlandunplugged
      @scotlandunplugged  Před rokem +1

      I’m not really qualified but I know in a lot of cases the spelling of words is closer to original, old English pronunciation. I think the US pronunciation of burgh as “berg” might be more European though, like Hamburg or Salzburg. Don’t quote me in that though 😂

  • @ramonadixon1291
    @ramonadixon1291 Před rokem +3

    That was an interesting video. Here in the states my great! Grandfather actually helped build the Panama canal. I do realize the Panama canal zone is not in the United States, but I am here in the United States. He was there for 7 years or more. So it's interesting to see the difference in architecture and just the actual planning.

    • @scotlandunplugged
      @scotlandunplugged  Před rokem +1

      Thank you! The Panama Canal would have been quite a project! 7 years 😅