 The wheel raises boats by 24 metres ( 79 ft ) , but the Union Canal is still 11 metres ( 36 ft ) higher than the aqueduct which meets the wheel . Boats must also pass through a pair of locks between the top of the wheel and the Union Canal . The Falkirk Wheel is the only rotating boat lift of its kind in the world , and one of two working boat lifts in the United Kingdom , the other being the Anderton boat lift . 
