Runner786

Xmas swim…

Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ,^[8][9] observed primarily on December 25^[4][10][11] as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world…….. that is the official take … for others it’s a chance to find time to let the hair down and put some excitement back into your life.

Sitting around the table eating the festive turkey with my family I received a text from Kenny with the details on the Xmas Wild swim he was planning , jobs a good un I thought as I read the details… We would meet at Stobs camp and walk into the Barnes loch for a swim early on Boxing day. For years on and off we have had some great local adventures on Boxing day….  kayaking , climbing,  mountain biking , running and this year it was to be Wild Swimming. Kenny and Mick are mad on the wild swimming and try to swim once a month through the winter, even breaking the ice to get in if they have to 😀 😀

Hiking into the Barnes in gale force winds …

Mick , Kenny and I met up in what can only be considered storm force conditions. The temperature was a nice 13 degrees which for wild swimming helps a lot , even if the water was a cool 7 degrees the surrounding temperatures were toasty enough to let us heat up when we got out the water. But the WIND !!  it was gusting at 60mph which was sure to make for an exciting swim … We hiked in with anticipation of big waves !!

Sure enough the surface waves were tall, hard and fast , we prepped up and got down to business!  in we went with huge sets dunking us as we swam on … 1 , 2, 3 …. DUNK !!  1,2,3…… DUNK !! it was hard work …

Spray shooting off my arm in the winds ….

Made harder for me as I had opted  to swim in a thicker scuba diving wetsuit for warmth , with way more buoyancy in the legs than was comfortable for waves coming from behind… they were lifting my legs along and throwing my head deep under the water … exciting 😀

Kenny beasting up the loch

We were swept along quickly and soon the water was throwing us up and into the logs at the end of the loch. Even standing in the shallows was proving impossible due to the force of the water … truthfully we were never in real danger but things could easily have gone south quickly if we weren’t careful …

All went well though and we were laughing and joking as we changed back into our clothes and headed back to the cars …. thanks again Barnes Loch you were the perfect host to this years Boxing day bash …

Wild swimmers !! 😀

Megget Reservoir is an impounding reservoir in the Megget valley in Ettrick Forest, in the Scottish Borders. The 259 hectares (640 acres) reservoir is held back by the largest earth dam in Scotland. The reservoir collects water from the Tweedsmuir Hills, which is then conveyed 28 miles (45 km) via underground pipelines and tunnels to Edinburgh. The pipelines are routed through the Manor Valley and the Meldon Hills, to Gladhouse Reservoir and Glencorse Reservoir in the Pentland Hills. These two reservoirs store the water until such times as it is required. Excess water which overflows from the reservoir is returned to the Megget Water, and hence into St. Mary’s Loch.

I have always looked at the Megget as the best wild swim in the Borders , its a foreboding body with deep and dark water. It is a long swim with a big dam wall waiting for you and its probably the most important reservoir in Scotland as it feed the Capital city …. So I woke up feeling daring and headed to Tweedsmuir for a long solo swim with Emma as designated driver and Frank as support dog 😀 …

heads in gear … anything is possible !

I entered the water in what I would like to consider the best style, starting from the inlet of the Megget river . I believe that entering the water from its natural inlet and swimming to the end that it escapes into the old river is the purest most natural and respectful way to swim a reservoir.  I always believed in best style when I was a climber and as a swimmer I am no different. Soon I was half way and the big dam was closing in. I had thoroughly checked out the building of this dam previously and researched thoroughly the implications of getting close to the dam and its water inlets. Reservoirs are dangerous places to the uninitiated and should be treated as such. I swam left to avoid the control centre and its inlets, you never know 🙂

cruising up the middle ….

Soon I was powering up the last 100 metres and as its late September the water was cooling down so despite my work rate I could feel the cold starting to enter my body , happy days though as  I was almost there ..

nearly there

Finally I was on the Dam and leaving the water with Emma and Frank waiting high up on the Dam wall to congratulate me. The Megget was mine and the inner glow of satisfaction warmed me up no end …. Just the Fruid left and the biggies are done 🙂

Note: Learn your craft , understand water , reservoirs and your own limits … Everyone knows how to swim but now you must learn to wild swim 🙂  Stay safe

Grey Mares Tail …

Loch Skeen is a loch in Dumfries and Galloway in the south of Scotland. It is located about 10 miles to the north-east of Moffat and feeds the 60-metre (200 ft) high Grey Mare’s Tail waterfall.  Glacial sculpting at its best !!

Bongo and I had talked about swimming it a few times and today was the day no matter what. Indeed there were a few “whats” trying to put us off 😀 but we braved the torrential rain and winds to climb up to the loch that feed the Grey Mares tail and swim it. I love it up there, infact its where all those years ago I took my mountain craft and navigation book and learnt to find my way around in the hills, so many good memories over the years from that area and  here was a chance to make more <3    So off we went, the gruesome twosome go forth !  I like Bongo a lot, hes up for anything and we share very similar views on life and existentialism in general …. yes we talk some shite when were together 😀  makes sense though .. to us 😀

a  The Loch Skeen monster

We arrived at the loch after a long wet walk up in high winds but the temperatures were high and hopefully the water not as cold as my first recce’ .  I dipped my fingers in and it was balmy, well Scottish balmy (no ice) 😀 …. We changed into our suits and in we went , the waves were huge but coming in bursts between calm stretches. The weather was the same and it was crazy to watch the winds blow torrential rain clouds overhead then calm sunny spells .. the water danced like hungry piranha approaching , consuming us then going calm … Surrealism at its most surreal.

Bongo doing his fonzy impersonation .. hey hey its the Bong

We fought our way up to the far end sheltered by the looming hills either side and turned … we flew home with the wind and waves behind us … what a day !!!   what a swim , what an adventure !!!!

We quickly changed and headed for the car , it wasn’t so warm now … We hurried down the hill path , stomachs growling as if knowing a giant Gordon burger awaited !

Note: Learn your craft , understand water , reservoirs and your own limits … Everyone knows how to swim but now you must learn to wild swim 🙂  Stay safe