Falkirk Wheel, Canal Cruise & Stirling

The highlight of this tour is a visit to one of Scotland’s most impressive feats of engineering – the Falkirk Wheel. The world’s first rotating boatlift links two canals - one 82 feet (25 metres) higher than the other. Sitting in your canal boat on the lower gondola of the wheel, it rotates, carrying some 500 tonnes of boat and water as you gracefully raise to the upper level, counterbalanced by the top gondola coming down. This experience is made all the better with a short cruise along the canal offering stunning views from the top.

Continue to the city of Stirling, known as ‘the brooch that clasps together the highlands and the lowlands’. The lower town is packed with contemporary shopping malls, theatres and art galleries. Enjoy some free time here to look around, so you can browse the high street stores, sip coffee at a sidewalk café or head up to explore the Castle of the Holy Rude.