Castle swim

Eilen Donan Castle is on elf the most photographed buildings in Scotland. And it is easy to see why. The old castle, on a loch, hills around and there is only one stone bridge to enter it. Only one bridge ... or is there a swimming option?

Of course there is no official swimming option, but that is just the thing I see, when I stand on the side of a loch. 

We arrived late in the small village of Dornie and the castle stood proud and illuminated in the night.  After dinner in the local pub we walked to our B&B, which was located across a small bridge in the village of Ardelve. Standing on the bridge at night made me think about a small swim to cross the waterway between Loch Long and Loch Duich. 

The next morning our friendly B&B host heard about my plan, said that it was possible, but also warned me of a current which changes depending on the tide. Loch Long is connected to Loch Duich and Loch Alsh, which goes to the sea on the Scottish west Coast. I wanted at least to go in the water and give it a try. My friends dropped me off at the bridge and drove on to visit the castle. 

It wasn't the nicest weather but it gave the crossing towards the castle an even more dramatic effect. 

I swam towards the castle and stopped after a third to make some photos. That's where I noticed the mentioned current. It was going out so it carried me southbound towards the caste. What a nice floating experience! 

The light southbound current was nice, but you have to make sure to cross the waterway before the current carries you to far into the next loch. It wasn't that strong and I kept on swimming towards  the castle and around it. 

From the water I could see my friends waiting for me. 

And they took a picture from the other point of view

I flooded around some more, enjoying the view and the looks of the tourist and decided then to look for a good point to exit. Not having paid the entrance fee to the castle, I swam towards the carpark. That was rather muddy and swampy in the end. Wearing a wetsuit I felt like an alien climbing up to the carpark with all the "normal" people... 

Eilen Donan Castle, Dornie, Kyle of Lochalsh IV40 8DX, Vereinigtes Königreich

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Glenfinnan Viaduct

Did you watch the Harry Potter movies? Then you know the Hogwarts Express... In reality it is an old scottish Train called "The Jacobite" which runs from Fort William to Mallaig. It crosses the famous Glenfinnan viaduct.  Last time I visited Glenfinnan Station and walked up the hills to that spotter place... waiting for the steamtrain! I was really really anxious and didn't want to take the camera down for one second too afraid to miss it! Thank you littel sister for coming along and taking that shot!

Finally I could hear the typical sound of an approaching train and the steam appeared in the small wood. It was great! Excited as a child I jumped and waved and started to take photos. It was over to soon. On the way down it started to drizzel, but nothing could lower my spirits. After 15 minutes we arrived at Glenfinnan Station and the "Jacobite" was still there. What is so cool about steamtrains? I have no idea but I love them! As did my father. Glenfinnan Staion is a small privat museum with a shop, a sleeping car hostel and a diner car with scones and soup. Perfect! I think, I will feature it in another post...

Today I wanted to tell you about the swim. A few meters from the station is Glenfinnan Monument at Loch Shiel. From here you have a nice view on the viaduct from below. And I thought, it was a perfect place for a swim. It was not. There is a small beachy area where a dropped my stuff and changed into my wetsuit. I walked in and walked...     and walked ...  and walked...

the water wouldn't get any deeper! Finally I reached waist high water and got in, just to be in the water at least once! I came back really frustrated.
So I will forget about the swim and remember the steamtrain ;-)

Can't wait to go back and wait for the Jacobite to arrive!

You never regret a swim ....
well...

Location:

Glenfinnan just off the A380, Inverness Shire, PH37 4LT, United Kingdom

The Station is reason enough to visit or spend a night:

 http://glenfinnanstationmuseum.co.uk

Want to arrive via steamtrain?

http://www.westcoastrailways.co.uk/jacobite/jacobite-steam-train-details.cfm

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swimmer's library at Loch Ness

During the Scotlandtrip in 2012 we passed Loch Ness one day. Of course I had read about swimspots in the wildswim book by Kate Rew.
It said to drive along the south side of the Loch, where you can find small parking spots at the river bank.
I don't know, if I stopped at the right place or if I wasn't patient enough to wait for a better spot a few miles later. There was a small space next to the road to park the car and I wanted to get into the water. That's how I decided on the spot ;-)
Getting into the wetsuit was quick, getting down into the water included careful walking over the rocks at the bank side. It was not the easiest entry, but it passes as accessable. It was August and the water was nice - at least when wearing a wetsuit. 

I call a swim a swim even when I just floated on the water. The water felt good, the weather was sunny and I was totally at peace with feeling the bouyancy of the wetsuit and being a part of the loch. Finally I turned on my belly and did some strokes. It was the first time I saw "black water". The water in the lochs is sometimes very peaty and has a brownish colour. I did some crawl strokes and watched my hand going through this strange coloured water.
Even though I know it is just a myth about the Loch Ness Monster, I felt queer in the dark water with my feet hanging down and no bottom in sight...

When I came out of the water and walked towards the car, a large bus stopped and parked next to our car. It was the "Library Leabharlann"
I thought it was a slapstick moment. Apperently there was no busstop and no one got out. Still wet from the swim I grabbed my "The History of Scotland" book to have this picture taken:
a swim-in bus-libary, what a service!

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