It had only been four weeks since my previous swim at Carron Valley https://twinbikerun.com/2023/03/08/outdoor-swim-review-carron-valley-revisted-january-2023-iain/

I said then that “I’ll try again next month once the temperature rises a few degrees.”

Thankfully the water temperature has increased. it was a more pleasant 9.9C. I had a quick dip and it was cold but not unpleasent. Hopefully next month I can do longer swims.

Check out the video to see what a swim in Carron Valley Reservoir is like.

Ease of Access: https://goo.gl/maps/vkcjfRm5cx6dYWt7A Park at the gate next to the loch. Its 10m to the waterside. 

Water quality: Warm and shallow at the edge of the loch but it can noticeably drop in temperature the further out you get. 

Swim Quality: Excellent. Lots of things to sight against. Water is choppy but that makes it more fun!

Other People: A couple of folk out walking and the odd car/cyclist going by. 

Would I go back: Yes. It’s my default swim location. 

Previous review here https://twinbikerun.com/2022/08/16/outdoor-swim-review-carron-valley-revisted-august-2022-iain/

My shoudl I go for a swim rule is “if it takes longer to get to the swim than I spend swimming then don’t swim”

The weather was beautiful so I decided to see whether it was possible for me to swim yet. Its a 30 minute drive from my house to the reservoir.

The air temperature was -1.5 and the water temperature was 5.5C. I lasted 10 minutes in the water! Therefore my rule says “don’t swim”

I’ll try again next month once the temperature rises a few degrees.

Check out the video to see what a swim in Carron Valley Reservoir is like.

Ease of Access: https://goo.gl/maps/vkcjfRm5cx6dYWt7A Park at the gate next to the loch. Its 10m to the waterside. 

Water quality: Warm and shallow at the edge of the loch but it can noticeably drop in temperature the further out you get. 

Swim Quality: Excellent. Lots of things to sight against. Water is choppy but that makes it more fun!

Other People: A couple of folk out walking and the odd car/cyclist going by. 

Would I go back: Yes. It’s my default swim location. 

Previous reviews here and here

Last month I wrote “It doesn’t feel like summer has really got started properly. May and June have been a lot less sunnier than recent years.”

I could start off this review the same way. it still doesn’t feel like summer has started.

I’ve been swimming consistently in Carron valley one or two times a week and its not been the best summer for swimming here. A near constant easterly wind has whipped up the waves in the reservoirs and there’s barely been a swim when I’ve not had to battle waves.

Last year I barely saw a wave all summer!

The water is constistently 15C-ish at present and its not very peaty but if you don’t like waves then you might not enjoy swimming here.

Hopefully next month I’ll report that summer has arrived at last.

Check out the video to see what a swim in Carron Valley Reservoir is like.

Ease of Access: https://goo.gl/maps/vkcjfRm5cx6dYWt7A Park at the gate next to the loch. Its 10m to the waterside. 

Water quality: Warm and shallow at the edge of the loch but it can noticeably drop in temperature the further out you get. 

Swim Quality: Excellent. Lots of things to sight against. Water is choppy but that makes it more fun!

Other People: A couple of folk out walking and the odd car/cyclist going by. 

Would I go back: Yes. It’s my default swim location. 

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Loch Mareee is famous for its islands. It has more than forty and they contain the nearest thing to natural woodland left in Britain – fragments of the original Caledonian Pine Forest.

Because of the islands its a popular spot for kayak-ers and canoeists. I was staying nearby in Kinlochwee and I fancied a swim before my breakfast so I thought I would give the Loch a try.

I found this game in the hotel. think it is true for all wild swimmers.

REVIEW

Ease of Access: I parked at the Bein Eighe car park beside the Loch. There are toilets and you can get down to the shore easily.

Water quality: Cold! Even in June it was only 13.8C. It was a tricky Loch to get into from the shore as its very shallow and rocky. The rocks were very slippy. Its OK if you have swim shoes/socks on or if you just drop to your back and float out to where its deeper.

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

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

Would I go back: Yes. Its such a beautiful spot to swim in.

You can see Loch Maree in this video

Previous reviews here and here

It doesn’t feel like summer has really got started properly. May and June have been a lot less sunnier than recent years. What happened to Global Warming? The weather has been poor every since the climate convention in Glasgow. I blame Greta Thunberg 🙂

Thankfully the water has been warming up and it is now nice enough to swim without a wetsuit. The water isn’t peaty like last year which meant I didn’t come out looking like the creature from the black lagoon.

Check out the video to see what a swim in Carron Valley Reservoir is like.

Ease of Access: https://goo.gl/maps/vkcjfRm5cx6dYWt7A Park at the gate next to the loch. Its 10m to the waterside. 

Water quality: Warm and shallow at the edge of the loch but it can noticeably drop in temperature the further out you get. 

Swim Quality: Excellent. Lots of things to sight against. Water is choppy but that makes it more fun!

Other People: A couple of folk out walking and the odd car/cyclist going by. 

Would I go back: Yes. It’s my default swim location. 

I previosuly wrote about North third here https://twinbikerun.com/2019/07/19/outdoor-swim-review-north-third-reservoir-iain/ and here https://twinbikerun.com/2021/05/18/rugged-run-north-third-reservoir/

In recent years there hasn’t been as much water in North Third as there was when I wrote my intial review. I decided to pop by (May 2022) to see what the water level was like this year but it was still very low.

Which is disappointing as my usual swim would actually be mostly walking. The water was that low.

I suspect it will be like that for the rest of the summer. Ill keep an eye on it and hope it improves but I don’t think I’ll get any swimming here.

REVIEW (when the water was full)

Ease of Access: There’s a small car park beside a gate next to the path that leads down to the reservoir. If the spaces there are taken then there’s spots nearby to park.

Water quality: A bit murky and a little bit shallow in places. There was much less water in the reservoir than when I was last here in March. The water temperature was 18.5C.

Swim Quality: Excellent – There’s a nice loop around the islands. The water was calm.

Other People: There’s usually folk fishing at the side of the loch and I’ve occasionally bumped into other folk either heading in or leaving after swimming themselves.

Would I go back: Yes. Its one of my favorite places to swim.

I had my fist visit to Carron Valley since the Autumn. The water temperature was 12C which meant it was chilly but not too cold for a swim.

I was hoping the Osprey’s that nest in Carron Valley might be there but there was no sign of them yet. Maybe next time…

Check out the video to see what a swim in Carron Valley Reservoir is like.

Ease of Access: https://goo.gl/maps/vkcjfRm5cx6dYWt7A Park at the gate next to the loch. Its 10m to the waterside. 

Water quality: Warm and shallow at the edge of the loch but it can noticeably drop in temperature the further out you get. 

Swim Quality: Excellent. Lots of things to sight against. Water is choppy but that makes it more fun!

Other People: A couple of folk out walking and the odd car/cyclist going by. 

Would I go back: Yes. It’s my default swim location. 

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Elie is a popular destination on the East Neuk of Fife. Its the sort of place men wear red trousers and think they look cool. Check out https://www.thegentlemansjournal.com/the-problem-with-men-in-red-trousers/ and http://lookatmyfuckingredtrousers.blogspot.com/ to learn more about this fashion faux pas.

I swim at Elie beach whenever i visit. The sea can be a little bit choppy if the wind is strong. But Earlsferry beach and Shell bay beach are very close by. When one beach is choppy, one of the others will be calm. Just pick and choose the one that matches the sea conditions you are comfortable with.

It was a beautiful day when I visited. The sea was cold (5C) so I didn’t go in for long but it was nice to have quick dip.

If you plan to swim here check the tide table https://tides.willyweather.co.uk/ta/fife/elie.html its a much nicer swim when the tide is high than low.

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

Water quality: I prefer it when its a high tide.

Swim Quality: Good. Swim from the pier to the beach if you fancy an interesting challenge.

Other People: It can be very, very busy.  

Would I go back: Yes. I go there on holiday allot so I’ll be back later in the year.

On a cold wet day in Troon I popped into a cafe. I was desperate for some soup. It was a soup sort of day. I asked the waitress what the soup of the day was. She replied “French Onion.”

“Do you have anything else?” I asked. “No” she replied. “We only have French onion soup.”

Surely if you are a cafe who only have one soup then you go make lentil or a tomato offering. Nobody’s favorite soup is “french onion” unless you are french.

I ordered it as I was desperate but I then watched as every other punter who came into the cafe asked what was the soup. And they too, all said when hearing of the choice. “Oh – do you have anything else?”

Thankfully the weather was better the next day. My wife and I popped down to Troon beach for a sunrise swim. The water was absolutely Baltic. My body felt sore when the cold water hit my hands and feet.

It was very shallow but I managed 10 minutes of near freezing conditions.

Don’t be fooled by this video. It was not as warm as it looks.

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REVIEW

Ease of Access: https://goo.gl/maps/HKVy3g3ZW4ULQnmG7 we were staying at Loch Green Hotel. It was a 15 minute walk from the hotel to the beach. There is a path called The Smugglers Trail.

Water quality: I didn’t put my head under the water so it was hard to tell how good the water was.

Swim Quality: Perfect. Nice flat calm water

Other People: Not a soul.

Would I go back: I wouldn’t go out of my way to swim here but if I was near Troon then I would stop for a dip.