Originally published in The Sunday Times Scotland, 24 September 2006<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brace yourself for a refreshing difference: open-water swimming may be chilly, but its far more rewarding than concrete and chlorine<\/p>\n\n\n\n
David Walliams\u2019s successful Channel crossing, Lewis Gordon Pugh\u2019s record-breaking swim up the River Thames and the launch of the Outdoor Swimming Society have all contributed to a fresh enthusiasm for open-water swimming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is nothing new about the activity, of course. Oceans, rivers, pools and lochs have always been a source of recreation for Scots. But the number of hardy souls taking a chilly dip plummeted in the closing decades of the 20th century as people grew accustomed to heated swimming pools and warm-weather holidays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Until recently the most famous open-water swimmers in Scotland were the daredevils who threw themselves into the Firth of Forth on New Year\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn the late 1990s my river swimming club was thinking of giving up,\u201d says Rob Fryer<\/a> of the River and Lake Swimming Association, who has swum in most Scottish waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe mood swing against swimming outdoors was so strong, we actually started to believe we were clinging to something that was just going to fade away. But in the past few years there has been a huge resurgence of interest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fryer, who is currently compiling a guide to open-water swimming locations across Britain, says the explosion of interest is a reaction to the sterility of concrete and chlorine. \u201cTaking a dip in open water is cheap, green and a lot more fun than a swimming pool,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best of all, for anyone wishing they had tried it this summer, September is usually the warmest month in open water, particularly where it is relatively still and exposed to the sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The water in the margins of Perthshire\u2019s big lochs is currently rising to about 20C, a temperature that even the most timid can plunge into without too much discomfort. You might even find small, hilltop pools where the water reaches 25C on sunny days. Coastal waters, however, are less like a tepid bath and more like a bracing plunge pool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Scotland the law looks kindly on those who seek recreation by full immersion. Scotland\u2019s Land Reform Act of 2003, which grants the \u201cright to roam\u201d, also created significant rights of access to open water. You are free to swim in any of Scotland\u2019s lochs and rivers except those used for the public water supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 100 or so members of Ye Amphibious Ancients Bathing Association<\/a>, based in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, use the wide expanse of the River Tay for their swimming practice. \u201cEver since the river has been cleaned up, more and more swimmers have felt confident about getting into the water,\u201d says Joyce McIntosh, the association president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Phibbies, as they call themselves, are currently enjoying one of their best outdoor seasons. \u201cIt has been superb this year,\u201d says McIntosh. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen porpoises and dolphins. It is so much less boring than swimming in an indoor pool. And it\u2019s easy. You can just go down to the water\u2019s edge and wade in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ease of access, however, does not minimise the potential dangers of open-water swimming. Like all outdoor adventure sports, it is unwise to throw yourself into it unless you know what you are doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fry advises seeking out those with local knowledge before taking the plunge. \u201cWith experience you can learn to read the water, but until you can, finding those who have already swum somewhere is always the best idea. Glaswegians are tough and adventurous, I find, so whenever I can I always seek out the views of Glasgow residents to see where they go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fry\u2019s other safety tip is rather more down to earth. \u201cI always carry a makeshift life buoy with me \u2014 30ft of rope tied to a nearly empty plastic five-gallon petrol container makes a very handy life-saver and only costs a few quid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He suggests that swimming along the banks of rivers and lochs is safer than trying to swim across them. \u201cThe further you get into open water, the deeper it tends to be and the colder the water is. It is easy to go right to the middle of a loch and find that you are lot colder and more exhausted than you expected. That is when trouble starts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For some swimmers, variety and novelty are the spur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I will trek high into the Cairngorm mountains in search of a river pool. I have swum across most of Britain\u2019s main rivers and even splashed through the centre of one or two cities, such as Basel in Switzerland, where dozens of people take a daily dip in the Rhine, using its speeding current to venture through the centre and for several miles beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n