The further north I’ve ever swum is at Eidfjord, for Norseman. As Shetland is closer to the Arctic than Eidfjord, I thought I would try and set a new record.

We stayed on the west side of the island, and, while exploring the north west coast, I spotted a small rocky beach at North Roe that looked ideal for a swim.

If you want to find it then you need to head north as far as you can and it’s the last beach before you get to the passenger jet.

Passenger jet? Yes. Passenger jet. One of the crofts has a refurbished jet sitting beside the house. It was saved and reclaimed from Samburgh airport in the early 00s and now has pride of place beside a croft house in the middle of a moor near the end of a long single track road that takes you almost to Shetland’s north west edge.

Well, just before you see it, you’ll find North Roe beach.

North Roe is, like most of Shetland’s beaches, quite rocky, rather than sandy and is part of a small sheltered cover. However, as Shetland is exposed and windy, the water was still quite choppy. Too choppy for much of a swim and too cold to spend to long in it.

For late August, it was much colder than Orkney, where I swam the previous week, and colder again than the mainline. I guess that’s what happens when you get closer to the Arctic…

Perhaps I should be looking to set a record for most southerly swim? That would have been much warmer/nicer..!

REVIEW

Ease of Access: There’s space for two cars to park beside the road and beach. The beach is only a few metres away from there.

Water quality:  There’s plenty of room to swim before the beach starts to drop away.

Swim Quality: If you like cold water, then this is perfect for you.

Other People: No one else was around.

Would I go back: No. There’s better beaches in Shetland. I just stopped as this was the furthest north I could go on the west side of the island.

Findhorn is a small village in Moray famous for its eco-living and for the Findhorn Foundation, a spiritual community. It’s also has one of the nicest beaches on the Moray Firth.

REVIEW

Ease of Access: There’s plenty of parking beside the beach although a new parking barrier has been introduced in 2024 to prevent access unless you pay £1 entry. The barrier accepts cards so there’s no need to find a pound coin, just use your card or phone and you have access to lots of parking right next to the beach.

There’s plenty of grass beside the car park and it’s easy to walk to the beach, even barefooted.

Water quality: Very clear when I was there in the middle of July 2024. There’s also plenty of room to swim before the beach starts to drop away. You can easily move away from shore and still, not only see the bottom, but also find places to stand and keep your head above water. The water temperature was c15 degrees.

Swim Quality: Excellent – at high tide, the sea was calm and there were views straight across the Moray Firth. Watch out for the estuary though – it looked too calm to be natural so I assumed that it was full of undercurrents. Afterwards someone else told me it also had a “whopping great whirlpool”, not sure if that’s true but I’d definitely avoid swimming near it and head east instead along the beach only.

Other People: Findhorn Beach is popular but, at more than five miles long there’s plenty of quiet spots away from entrance to the car park.

Would I go back: Yes (and have been whenever I’m in Moray).

Does this review count if it’s in Northern Ireland and not Scotland? I’d argue that it’s the same sea, just different shores so on that basis it deserves to be here.

I was in Northern Ireland in September was lucky to be staying in the small village of Cushendun during the heatwave. Every day was mid 20s and blue skies. It was more like the Mediterranean than the Irish Sea. But, even with such fantastic conditions, this was a great place for a swim. A

Water Quality

Crystal clear.

Swim Quality

Nice and shallow near the beach and very easy to swim and never be too far from a spot you can stand up, if you want to.

Other people

I suspect it wasn’t just because of the weather that this was a popular spot. I saw swimmers every time I passed the beach. It’s a busy place.

Overall

Just a great spot for a swim if you happen to be in this part of the world.

There are many great places to swim on the west coast, but very few places where you can do it in front of a sea food restaurant.

While some might not want to tuck into fish and chips after swimming with the fishes (but not the chips, potatoes can’t do the backstroke), the village of Shieldag is a tiny village/street on the Applecross peninsula and well worth a stop on its own or as part of touring the NC500.

If you do stop, there are a number of jetties along the front of the village, which offer easy access to the sea. The natural harbour makes it sheltered and an easy introduction to sea swimming, if the thought of larger waves or dangerous currents are putting you off.

REVIEW

Ease of Access: Very easy. There are plenty of parking spaces along the front of Shieldag and you can get down to the shore easily.

Water quality: Unusually warm. It was around 15 degrees in June but temperatures of 10 are not uncommon (and, in fact, are one of the reasons the Celtman Extreme triathlon takes place here in June). The water is very clear.

Swim Quality: Excellent – there’s beautiful mountain views all around.

Other People: The village can be busy. I went early in the morning but there was a number of camper vans parked there.

Would I go back: Yes. It’s a beautiful spot to swim in.

Gourock Outdoor Pool is Scotland’s oldest heated swimming pool – and also the only one to feature on number one album cover as it was used as the cover image for Blur’s ‘The Life of Darren’ this summer.

Gourock is on the west coast of Scotland is not to be confused with its next door neighbour, Greenock. You can tell the difference between the two because only one regularly features in crime reports (Greenock), while the other is used as an album cover. They may be side be side on the Clyde coast, but Gourock is definitely the better of the two. And the less set of their third neighbour, Port Glasgow, the better. Port Glasgow is where the criminals of Greenock fear to go at night…

Gourock Outdoor Pool is open for Spring and Summer and closed at the end of September. Every Wednesday night is also hosts a night time swim with the pool open between 10 and midnight. You have to buy tickets in advance which you can do here.

Water Quality

The pool uses sea water so the first thing you’ll notice when you swim is the taste of salt in the water. Other than that, the water is nice and clear and the pool is heated to feel like a nice dip on a warm summer’s day, which is not something that happens a lot on the west coast of Scotland.

Swim Quality

I started swimming and was sure I’d swum 1,000 metres only to check my watch to find it was just 700m. I tried again and again I was short. It was only as I was leaving that a man mentioned that the pool was 33m and not 25m. D’oh! I’d set my watch to record 25m laps. No wonder it was taking me 30 seconds longer per 100m! So, in terms of swim quality, remember the pool is longer than average.

As well as being longer than average it also adopt an

Other people

There’s two lanes for lap swimming and a larger open area for casual swimming. It was quite busy on a weekday morning between 9 and 10 but by 10, there was only one other person in the lane.

Overall

A great spot for a swim – a bit of a trek from Glasgow by car, but the train station is next door, which may be easier if you want to try it out.

I’ve covered the White Loch before – see here – and for parking see this previous review. In 2022, I mentioned that you should check which route you plan to use to drive to the White Loch. That’s still the case this year, with upgrade work taking place to the A77 at the edge of Newton Mearns. And for that I have to say “sorry” as I think the company I work for might be partially responsible for it! Sorry! It’ll be great when it’s done though!.

Water Quality

In previous years, I’ve mentioned that you might feel a slight sliminess after you swim. This is due to peat and nothing to be alarmed about even if you might feel like the Creature of the White Loch Lagoon when you come out of the water. Currently, the water is clear and I felt clean when I came out of the water.

Two years ago the loch was ‘closed’ due to a blue-green algae infestation. This can occur after a long period of warm weather. Luckily, or unluckily, depending on your view of this summer’s weather, that’s not been much of an issue this year. Check out the Southside Swimmers Facebook group for the latest updates to confirm if the loch is safe to swim.

Swim Quality

Excellent location for different lenghts of swims. If you just want a dip then a paddle round the entrance is nice and shallow. If you want to complete a full lap then it will be around 1000 – 1200 metres. You can aim for the opposite bank at 4, then a bright and obvious life buoy post at 2 then a wind turbine at 3 before coming back to the start.

I’m told that some people experience a slight pull in the water around the dam at 1 so keep away from it.

Other people

At least one person every time I’ve been. If it’s been sunny then I’ve seen 10 people here, including swimmers, paddle boarders, a canoe – and one dog swimming laps after it’s owner. It’s a busy place.

Overall

A great spot for a swim – but also a very well known one so expect to see other people particularly at weekends, evenings and if the weather is warm and sunny.