Here I am sitting up on the hill about half way up the difference between the lower canal and the upper one. and you can see the boat in the lower gondola.





Then the entire Wheel rotates.



Further



And further around.



Until the gondola with the boat is aligned with the upper aquaduct and the boat can exit the wheel and pass through to the tunnel and upper canal.



This thing is huge. See the little dots on the sidewalk above? Those are people!

here is what the Wheel looks like close up.



Each Gondola can actually carry two boats. That's two boats going up and two boats coming down.

here are some more close-ups.





I was so excited to finally see the Falkirk Wheel in person I almost peed myself when it rotated.
OK, Engineers can get excited by the strangest things.