The dual lifts are the highest hydraulic boat lifts in the world, rising 19.8 m (65 ft). This was a considerable accomplishment when conventional locks usually only had a 2 m (7 ft) rise. However it is not the highest boat lift in the world - the lift at Strépy-Thieu in Belgium being greater in both capacity (1,350 tonnes) and height difference (73.15 m).
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In the 1980s, a visitor's centre was built beside the lock. It offers interactive simulations of going over the lift lock in a boat, and also historical exhibits detailing the construction of the lift lock.
Many local residents of Peterborough skate on the canal below the lift lock in the winter.
The Peterborough lift lock was named a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1987.