The quiet

It's easy to love open water swimming when the sun is shining and the water is warm. Although these things have been rare this year and the second has been virtually nonexistent.

But there's something special about swims when the conditions aren't perfect. No camper vans or tents, nobody else in sight. Just the flat, calm water and my swim buddy. We spent about 30mins in the water swimming down to Cameron House and back. Just the sound of the water and our hands breaking the surface. And the day grew lighter as we swam showing the contours of the hills and the islands further up the loch. Ben Lomond in the distance remained covered in cloud.

I did give my self a scare early on; it was still quite dark so I couldn't really see in the water. I caught sight of something moving just at the periphery of my vision and something touched my foot... it was just some of the long reeds growing near the headland where the water is quite shallow. What a relief! I've calmed down. Y the time the extra was taken!