Findhorn is a small village on the Moray coast which is famous for being the site of the Findhorn Foundation, a charity dedicated to spiritual learning to, as the foundation website proclaims:  explore kinder, more joyful ways of living, and co-creating a transformed world.

Given we’re currently on the brink of World War 3, I’m not sure their ambition has resulted in any meaningful changes but, as mission statements go, it’s better than “live, laugh, love”.

I was in Elgin in June and decided to pop along to Findhorn after I saw that it would be high tide at 7:30. I’d swam in Findhorn before and I knew that the tide would have to be reasonably high for the water to fill the bay.

I timed my arrival right and was able to access a small rocky beach from a slipway at the front of the village. While easily accessible I do have one warning. The slipway is right beside a short road that has two pubs on it. Both are popular and the road provides parking. On a hot summer night you may struggle to get parked. And, if you do, remember you’ll need to get changed publicly too.You may want to bring a few towels to provide some privacy.

For swimming, the bay is nice and sheltered with few waves, even when the beach on the other side of Findhorn is being battered by waves whipped up by a north wind.

I’d definitely recommend a swim here, particularly if you want the protection of knowing you are going to swim in calm conditions.

Ease of Access: The slipway is easily accesible. But be warned. The town (and parking) can be very busy on a nice day. 

Water quality: I prefer it when it’s a high tide.

Swim Quality: Good though watch out for tethering ropes from the boats in the harbour. They are easily avoided.

Other People: It can be busy in Summer.  

Would I go back: Yes.

The Loch Leven Half Marathon must have one of the worst starting locations in Scotland.

Kinross is a beautiful victorian town in Fife with large mansions, open fields and plenty of trees and hedges. It is the kind of town that people want to retire in. Rich people. Homes are not cheap here!

However, for the start of the race, you have to take a right at the bottom of the High Street and start beside an industrial unit and a large metal fence. No trees. No hedges. No homes thinking of applying for Scotland’s Home of the Year. Instead, you start beside a crane and a log splitter. It’s bizarre as the rest of the route is one of Scotland’s best half marathon routes as you run around Loch Leven with views stretching miles in each direction. It’s one of my favourites.

Perhaps to make up for the start line, the Loch Leven Half Marathon must also be one of the easiest half marathon loops in Scotland. You start beside metal sheds. You immediately turn right and then you only have to turn left three times after that before you’re back at the start. That’s one turn every four miles. You can’t get easier than that without running along the M8 to Edinburgh.

I was looking forward to the race but was conscious that my preparation had been poor. I’d ran 17 miles the previous week and I’d ran some longer runs during the week than I would have normally run in the week before a race. My legs felt heavy before I’d even left the industrial estate.

However, even with heavy legs, I still managed to run faster than Iain TwinBikeRun, which is all that counts because, unless you’re running for a record, than you’re running to beat your competitors and I ran faster than mine! 🙂

Race profile

• 100% tarmac.
• Open roads but with the number of people running, cars will crawl along to offer you a safe run. The second half of the route is much quieter.
• Three miles of a steady climb, three miles of downhill and undulating, one mile straight down a hill, a few hundred metres straight back up one; undulating until a flat finish (except for one very short climb).

As Norseman took place last weekend, I had flashbacks of my race as I read that the bike leg experienced almost sub-zero temperatures. If you want to know what it’s like to ride in sub-zero temperatures then here’s a video of me trying to keep warm while shaking from hypothermia. The Twix helped!