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    Falkirk Wheel

    4.1 (52 reviews)

    Falkirk Wheel Photos

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    Uh-mazing
    Karl P.

    Let me admit up front that I was a fan before I got there. I learned about the Falkirk Wheel from friends in Scotland in 2019. And then I got shut in my house for years. So, when I had the chance to plan a trip for business [I meet up with IT consultants to drink beer and vendors pay for it. It's a great business model], I chose Edinburgh as my first stop and Glasgow as my second - because the Wheel is halfway between. A group of five of us took the train to Falkirk High station. We didn't have an actual plan for getting to the wheel, so we were looking at Uber, taxi, bus options. A local was passing by and we asked her the best way to go and she suggested we walk along the canal. It's just under two miles, but completely flat since it's along the canal. We had a great walk, spotting fish, baby ducks, all kinds of fun flowers, a canal tunnel, and birds. It was a delightful walk. Once we got to the Wheel, it was honestly breathtaking. The ride was fine. Seriously uneventful. But standing and looking up at the machinery was magnificent. The "experience" is to be present and behold the engineering brilliance. Oddly enough, the UK folks I told about the Wheel had never heard about it. Meanwhile, I'm like a kid because I've been looking forward to this for three years. As far as we could tell, the city of Falkirk has nothing to recommend it. We wandered around a bit and then hopped back on the train. If you're in the neighborhood, make the effort to see the Falkirk Wheel. Plan a few hours. And the walk from the train station wasn't bad at all.

    Dianna B.

    This was an amazing feat of engineering to watch. My fella took me here on a chilly summer (oxymoron much?) afternoon. We watched as the wheel filled, the barge floating upward a bit, and then it began to turn. That was SO neat! We watched as it worked and changed the two boat's places, and then made our way down to the cafe/gift shop at the bottom of the hill. I was impressed with the amount of merchandise they had. It was pretty awesome.

    A view from inside the boat
    Tammy P.

    I had seen a show on the Travel Channel regarding this interesting wheel. There is nothing like this so when we had the chance to try this we jumped at the chance. The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift that move canal boats from one canal above to the canal below using gondolas the rotate up and down making sure that the weight in one gondola equals the other. It is based on the Archimedes Principle. (Look it up for more details.) It opened in 2002 and was part of Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee celebrations. It is amazing to watch but more interesting to try it. We boarded a boat and moved into the gondola. It moves slowly around lifting us up to the canal above. We then did a short ride along the canal through a tunnel and back. We then went back into the gondola and rotated back down to the visitors center. Unfortunately it was a rainy day so couldn't get some good pictures. It is an awesome design and works so well. If you are ever in the Glasgow Scotland area check it out.

    Tony C.

    The Wheel itself is stunning, it's mesmerising watching it in motion and doing it's thing. That's not in doubt... you do have this overwhelming feeling of "why?" though... as well as wondering if there's so much more that could be done to make the most of it. You can go and watch it without having to shell out on the boat journey, which does seem a tad overpriced for what seems to be like a quick up and down trip. The car park is a fair walk from the actual visitor centre, even the disabled parking, although there is a drop off point - if the weather is iffy, this could be a downside. Is it worth seeing? Definitely, it's a one of a kind engineering project... you just leave feeling there's so much more that could be/should be done with it.

    Sean G.

    Not a must see. The wheel is interesting to look at - it is quite the engineering feat! But the boat ride itself on the wheel and through part of the upper canal is long and boring at best.

    Lyndsay M.

    A very impressive piece of landmark engineering! Took a pit stop at the Falkirk Wheel to watch this huge structure in action. A fascinating piece of machinery taking boats from one section of the canal to the other. Well worth a pit stop!

    Nicola H.

    Does anyone else remember the cheesy radio ads that where around when the wheel first opened? Ive always been intrigued about the wheel and when we we were up visiting the kelpies we decided to pop by. The road from the kelpies takes you straight to the wheel which is really handy. Its pretty impressive up close and if you really want to you can take a boat ride through it for £12.50. There is plenty of outdoor seating, a cafe and visitor centre with a wee hut that you cam hire segways from. It was really cool to see the wheel do a full turn especially in the sun.

    Ladies Room at the Falkirk Wheel

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    10 months ago

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    2 years ago

    Good food good views good bike trails it's the beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeest place to go on a sunny summer day

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    6 years ago

    Great food and the wheels were great must be 5 star 5was great and I'll be back on the wheel soon great day......‍

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    18 years ago

    Cool construction decent cafe but resturaunt is better

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    12 years ago

    An absolute must see!!! A tribute to stainless steel, ingenuity, engineering and the power of five toasters. It is nothing short of amazing.

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    15 years ago

    great I love it!

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    Page 1 of 2

    Falkirk Wheel Reviews in Other Languages

    Review Highlights - Falkirk Wheel

    There is plenty of outdoor seating, a cafe and visitor centre with a wee hut that you cam hire segways from.

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    Merchant City - Bell St. at High St. in Merchant City Glasgow

    Merchant City

    4.7(10 reviews)
    18.5 miMerchant City, City Centre

    The Merchant City pretty much covers everything from George Square to High St, and is one of my…read morefavourite parts of Glasgow. Classed as a residential area, you'll also find all sorts of businesses: from the City Chambers, GOMA, bars, cafes and restaurants. Not to mention music venues like The Fruitmarket and City Halls. The buildings are beautiful - you'll find quite a few of them poem to the public during Doors Open Day each September - look out for St Andrews in the Square. One of the focal points is Merchant Square - a converted market with an awesome internal roofed courtyard, which is surrounded by bars, restaurant, and is home to a weekly craft and design fair. The Merchant city festival runs for around 10 days every July, and is well worth a wander round. All in all, one of the friendliest and most vibrant places to be.

    My first ever visit to Merchant City was pretty underwhelming - I'm going to say that during the…read moreday in the middle of the week, this area can seem a bit dull. At night is when it really comes alive and there's lots going on! You have the obvious drawcard of Merchant Square but personally, I don't love the offerings. Other streets of Merchant City have great bars and restaurants, and a few favourites for me are Guy's Restaurant, Wilson Street Pantry for brunch, Spitfire Espresso for a great cake/meeting/working spot and Blackfriars for a pint. New additions like BrewDog and Hutchesons are just wonderful, and really add something special to this great part of Glasgow. Parking can be a pain so I recommend parking at King St car park which is a great excuse to pop into the 13th Note/Mono for a pre-post soft drink. There's also a fabulous walking tour/art trail you can do if you pick up a leaflet at GOMA which shows off some of the amazing art in this area.

    Photos
    Merchant City - In Merchant City Glasgow

    In Merchant City Glasgow

    Merchant City - Ingram St. in Merchant City Glasgow

    Ingram St. in Merchant City Glasgow

    Merchant City - George St. in Merchant City Glasgow

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    George St. in Merchant City Glasgow

    Advocate's Close - Loved this shot with Sir Walter Scott Monument peeping out

    Advocate's Close

    4.6(9 reviews)
    25.4 miOld Town, Royal Mile

    It's just one of many interesting closes along the Royal Mile. This one is named after the Lord…read moreAdvocate's House. The house of Sir James Stewart used to be at the lower end the stairs near Cockburn St. It's literally steps away from the Supreme Courts building in Parliament Square. Well, about 70 steps up. Today, it's more of a shortcut between Market Street and the Royal Mile. The best feature of Advocate's Close is actually the perfectly framed view of the Scott Monument through the archway. You'll also see how high you are on the hill when walking up or down this steep & worn set of stairs. Hopefully they will add handrails to it one day like others that we've seen throughout the city. I mean, they don't call them "Death Stairs" for nothing. Oh, and theres's a very popular gastropub called the Devil's Advocate near the bottom of the steps. We didn't get to visit it, but it came highly recommended. It's just another reason to visit it.

    Edinburgh is riddled with closes and Advocate's Close is a fine example of these narrow lanes that…read moreconnect streets throughout and behind the Royal Mile. The tall buildings that line the path give many closes a canyon-like feel with many of them sloping steeply down from the Royal Mile. It's like walking into the underground! Advocate's Close is particularly popular with tourists and I can see why. At the top, it offers a beautiful peek-a-boo view of the Sir Walter Scott Monument in the distance and some of Edinburgh's central buildings. Walk all the way down and it connects you to Cockburn Street below. Definitely try walking through a close or two as they are great shortcuts to get from one street to another along the Royal Mile.

    Photos
    Advocate's Close - Looking down towards Cockburn St.

    Looking down towards Cockburn St.

    Advocate's Close - Viewing the Scott Monument from Advocate's Close

    Viewing the Scott Monument from Advocate's Close

    Advocate's Close - Advocate's Close

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    Advocate's Close

    Real Mary Kings Close

    Real Mary Kings Close

    4.1(214 reviews)
    25.4 miOld Town, Royal Mile

    Real Mary King's Close was one of the most eerie, immersive experiences I had in Edinburgh. It…read moreisn't about Scotland's royalty or power struggles. It's about survival and daily life through really dark times. I took a guided tour with Daisy, and she was absolutely incredible! So knowledgeable, genuinely funny, and her acting and storytelling took you back in time... literally. It never felt scripted or forced, just engaging and real. She was so warm and sweet, which made the experience even better. It's hard to believe she's only 25 given how much depth she brought to the tour.

    Went to the Real May King's Close tour based on a recommendation and didn't really do any research…read more It turned out to be one of the best tours of our 7 day trip thru Dublin, Edinburgh, and Glasgow. In case you don't already know, the current Edinburgh city center is built on top of the old city that is several hundred years old. This tour takes you beneath the streets to the old city. You will see the original close with houses and workshops. You will learn how they lived, "meet" other prominent people of that time, and learn about the black plagues. Really cool tour, very informative, and sometimes funny. Please note this tour is NOT for people with mobility issues or concerns. Tours leave on time from the street front store. So, be on time. They can't easily add you to your group if they have already left and gone underground. Highly recommended that you buy your tickets in advance. P.S. Photos are prohibited, and they try to sell you a picture of yourself in the old close on the way out. Tacky, I know, but still worth it.

    Photos
    Real Mary Kings Close
    Real Mary Kings Close
    Real Mary Kings Close - Real Mary King's Close tour

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    Real Mary King's Close tour

    Callendar House - Callendar House

    Callendar House

    4.3(4 reviews)
    22.1 mi

    Callander House is a nice place to visit for a day out with children. The house is free to visit…read moreand had a great Scottish gift shop. They have a cute, wee museum that tells you about falkirk and it's past including Antonine's Wall which is in Callander park. They also have an exibition room that has different events on that are mostly interactive. The tearoom has been reopened where you can have afternoon tea. The Georgian kitchen is a cosy kitchen where you can try their Georgian foods.

    I only heard about Callendar House because of an exhibition on that I wanted to visit. It's located…read morein a beautiful big park right in Falkirk so is a really nice place to visit even if you're not all that interested in what's inside (and it's free). We decided to have lunch in the tearoom which was quite strange - they really only have tables of 4/6 so you have to sit with people you don't know for lunch. The menu is pretty basic and what you'd expect of a cafe, I got a baked potato with mince and requested cheese, but even though the waitress noticed I didn't have cheese when she delivered the meal, she never then went to get it which was a bit of a bummer. That being said, the food was way nicer than it looked. We then went to see the Rob Ryan exhibition which is on til 4 September. The space is a little hard to find as you walk through the usual exhibition which is on here but we got there eventually. The exhibition is a little small (maybe 15 pieces) but it was amazing to see the papercuts in person, especially the really large pieces. There's a shop right inside the front door of Callendar House which has some nice souvenirs (tat) and all the staff were really friendly and helpful. There's a huge grassed area around Callendar House so it's worth having a picnic or bringing the dog.

    Photos
    Callendar House - Exhibit on The Antonine Wall

    Exhibit on The Antonine Wall

    Callendar House
    Callendar House - At callendar house geocaching. On the way home went down a trip on the big slide.

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    At callendar house geocaching. On the way home went down a trip on the big slide.

    Dean Village - Tons of dandelions

    Dean Village

    4.5(21 reviews)
    24.9 miNew Town

    From all the social media post I've seen, this was on my list for places to check out in Edinburgh…read more First visit, we actually went to the wrong location...lol.... Made up for the next time. It's a good 15 min or so in the car from downtown Edinburgh or you could walk. We ended walking as it gave us a chance to see things that we've missed from all the other time we've visited. It was probably a half hour walk just taking our time. Faster if we didn't stop to look at things and take pictures. Right when you get to the location, there's Dean Bridge that crosses over. If you reached it, the village is right below. There's a little cobble stone street that literally takes you to the Instagram spot where I've seen. It's another little bridge that looks down to the town. A river below which was somewhat frozen. Of course everyone is there for the same reason, to get the perfect shot. The cute painted homes and rustic architecture gives it a gothic vibe. Walking along the cobble stone streets and checking out the little village was pretty calm. There's even a path that runs along the river you can walk along. The village itself isn't that big. Even though it was winter, the place was still beautiful. Imagine the warmer season when everyone is walking around, it'll get crowded but beautiful. If you walk under Dean Bridge, there's a main path that will take you back to the city. It's wider and below the homes but a really nice walk. People out for their jog or casually strolling. This place was very cute. Nothing big but something worth checking out. The power of social media know what it's doing.

    Agree with all the other reviews! Dean Village was such a charming walk during our time in…read moreEdinburgh. On a rainy day, it wasn't too crowded, and the views are beautiful, especially considering how close it is to the city center.

    Photos
    Dean Village - Dandelions

    Dandelions

    Dean Village - Crossing the bridge

    Crossing the bridge

    Dean Village - Dean's village.

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    Dean's village.

    Falkirk Wheel - localflavor - Updated May 2026

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