The Falkirk Wheel is to undergo a major renovation in a £1m programme to upgrade and improve it.

Linking the Forth and Clyde Canal to the Union Canal 115ft above it, the 13-year-old wheel will be refurbished inside and out.

The existing visitor centre, trip boats, conference rooms and activity hub will also be refurbished with new branding, signs and interpretation boards celebrating the engineering behind the iconic structure.

It will remain open throughout the works, which are due to finish this summer.

The project is part of a phased investment plan, with further improvements and new visitor experiences developed over the coming years.

More than 600,000 people visited the Falkirk Wheel in 2015 making it Scotland's busiest tourist attraction outside of a city.

A spokesman for Scottish Canals said it is hoped the project will encourage even more people to take a turn on the Falkirk Wheel, with the profits generated by the attraction "being reinvested in safeguarding the heritage of Scotland’s 250-year-old canals".

Steve Dunlop, chief executive of the organisation, said: "This investment will build on that success, refreshing the Wheel’s existing attractions, and encouraging even more people to take a turn on the world’s only rotating boat lift.

"The Falkirk Wheel is the jewel in the crown of Scotland’s canal network and the income it generates plays a vital role in safeguarding the rich heritage of the nation’s 250-year-old waterways.

"With the completion of this project, and The Helix and The Kelpies nearby, the area will have even more to offer visitors.

"With the chance to take a turn on the incredible Wheel or stand in the shadows of the largest horse sculptures on the planet, Falkirk and Grangemouth is fast becoming a vibrant hub of sustainable tourism with the Forth and Clyde Canal at its heart.”