Moy Oh Moy
I finally did it! I finally went wild swimming at Loch Moy in the Scottish Highlands. Now I want to do it every single day. I’ve been wanting to go wild swimming in Scotland for the longest time. I follow a heap of really ballsy folk who wild swim in Scotland in the Winter wearing just a swimming costume. I absolutely wasn’t ready for any of that. So I waited until it was 26 degrees in the Scottish Highlands for my first time. Hot and wet baby, hot and wet. And what a fantastic experience! Loch Moy is very remote, and we have never seen another person there, which makes it just perfect for wild swimming.
We were visiting Inverness to see family when we decided to take the 20-minute drive out to Loch Moy. The Highlands and Islands are completely spoilt with places to outdoor swim, and I’m ticking them off, one peaty loch at a time!
Things I learnt from my first time Wild Swimming
Loch Moy
Moy is a lovely wee village between Daviot and Tomatin. It is mostly known for the Moy Game Fair, which is a wonderful Scottish fair that takes place every summer. Loch Moy, on the road from Inverness to Aviemore and the Cairngorms and on the outskirts of Moy village, was the best possible place for me to start wild swimming. There was nobody around for miles because it’s a massive hidden gem which meant it was alright to strip off for both the swimming cozzie struggle dance and the drying my boobs under the birch trees part. The Loch is completely private. Just perfect!
Peaty Lochs
The loch, like many lochs in the Highlands, is dark because of the peat from the surrounding hills. So from the word go I had to stay level-headed and have the mindset that I wasn’t going to have my Simply Be swimming costume ripped from my jiggly bits and dragged to the depths. It was also slightly unnerving not knowing what I was walking on. Moss or dead sheep? *prays for moss but has anxiety*
Just Chillin’
Yes, I waited until it was 25 degrees for my first time because the hotter and wetter the better huh?! The water was a little nippy yes but nowhere near as cold as I thought it would be, and I coped absolutely fine. Aye 2.0 had chilly balls but he manned up eventually. He even enjoyed it and he is so precious when it comes to the cold!
Views
The views around the loch are just gorgeous. Shimmering waters, steep hills and birds of prey darting in and out of the thick mass of Scots pine trees. What a delight.
Man’s Best Friend
There is no and I mean no better feeling than swimming in a Scottish freshwater Loch with my best doggo pal. I don’t know who loved it more, me or her. I stayed in there for nearly 3 hours swimming back and forth and sometimes I even had my boobs oot which would have given the local trout some aye candy.
I’m in love. Roll on the day I can go back to Loch Moy with a lovely picnic and a freshwater dip.