June 6, 2011

One brilliant night in Scotland...
















my sister and I decided to eat in the room - fish and chips wheeled in on a lovely cart under silver domed trays, the view from our window this one, the Castle, spectacular day and night, and we turned on the telly and caught a BBC special that was so interesting - Dr. Alice Roberts talking about Wild Swimming. The show followed her swimming exploits across Great Britain while she refers back (a narrator's voice reads the work) of Roger Deakin, a writer and journalist, who wrote a lovely piece about wild swimming.
I wish we could get the whole of the special here, it was quite long, and we were fascinated watching her go from wild pool to stream to pond and bravely dip in the most freezing looking waters. In looking for more than just that first brief introductory post on Youtube, I have found some more amazing wild swimming. This one, with Kate Rew, another wild swimmer who swims through the fairy pools in the Isle of Skye is absolutely magical.
Here are some very fit ladies post swim with the most fun swim caps ever. I really do think I was born and am living on the wrong continent a good deal of the time, evidence in all this glorious silliness in the pursuit of the wild swim. I think my swimming father would have enjoyed the notion. Last but hardly least, I don't know who these people are but they are very brave, have no fear of the cold water, and share an apparent lack of melanin in their skin with me and my Scottish-Irish blooded children, and my lovely freckled man. Brrrr! Don't know if I'd actually go in, but I'd like to think I just might.

2 comments:

WOL said...

I definitely know I was born on the wrong continent. Wild swimming? that's a new one. Will have to check these out.

Nan said...

Well, isn't that the most interesting thing! Wow. I'm amazed. I'm not much of a swimmer or water person myself (how very strange for a Pisces sun) but I am sure fascinated by this subject.