The Falkirk Wheel is a unique solution to the problem of joining waterways on two levels. It uses two revolving scoops, which hold some 300,000 gallons of water, to raise or lower boats between the Forth and Clyde Canals – enabling canal boats to cross Scotland. There’s an informative visitor centre, but the whole thing is best experienced on one...

The restored Georgian House mansion rises above Charlotte Square, a plaza with an attractive gated garden, in the pattern of so many buildings in Edinburgh’s New Town. For this is a planned settlement and the brainchild of one Robert Adam, Scotland’s foremost 18th-century architect. In 1776 he submitted plans as part of a planned attempt to relieve pressure on the...