24 May 2002: The Queen officially opens the world's first rotating boat lift during a day of engagements in Scotland

A unique waterway feature aimed at reviving the waterways of Central Scotland was one of the highlights of the second day of The Queen's tour of Scotland. The Falkirk Wheel is the magnificent centrepiece of the £84.5 million Millennium Link project masterminded by British Waterways Scotland. The project, first mooted in the early 1990s, was designed to reopen the Forth & Clyde and Union Canals to navigation after nearly 40 years of neglect, and to regenerate the Falkirk area.

Arriving in wind and rain at the canal-side site in Tamfourhill for the opening ceremony, The Queen boarded a boat to sail across the canal basin and view the magnificent structure from the water. Schoolchildren rushed to meet The Queen as she stepped onto the dock to inaugurate the wheel.

After The Queen formally opened the structure, the first boat, sailed by members of disabled charity The Seagull Trust, passed through the Wheel to the cheers of the watching crowds. Afterwards the Royal party went inside the futuristic Visitor Centre, viewing displays showing the history of the Forth & Clyde and Union Canals.
  
The Queen had started her day a few miles away in the municipal buildings of Stirling, where she examined the Letters Patent granting city status to the area. Stirling was one of five towns in the UK granted city status in 2002 as part of The Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations. The historic town has long had Royal associations, with its magnificent castle a seat of the Stewart kings, from whom The Queen is descended.

After viewing the Letters Patent, The Queen continued with a walkabout in Corn Exchange Road, greeting a crowd of about 1,500 people and collecting bunches of flowers.

Back in Edinburgh in the evening, The Queen hosted a reception for figures from all areas of Scottish life. Some of the celebrities present included Scottish crime writer Iain Rankin, famous as the creator of Inspector Rebus; Scottish actresses Blythe Duff and Hannah Gordon; and Scottish actor Robert Carlyle.