Feb 2023 Loch Etive
Loch Etive has been one of my most favourite place to swim; to date, it wasn’t about the water so much as the location. Nestled away in Glen Etive, it is a very magical
place. My friends, (the swimmin swankies) and I had planned this day out for a while and we wanted to go before the Glen got really busy, as it’s a long drive down a single-track road to get to the end where we planned to swim. The forecast had been for horrendous winds but we set of non the less, we’re a pretty hardy bunch!! The drive along through the glen was just awe inspiring, waterfalls, deer, mountains, mist. We had it all. As the head of the loch came into view we were speechless. We were the first in the car park, not surprisingly really given the forecast that day!! This loch is something else completely, its cradled by mountains on all sides and it feels like you are on the top of the world. As we pulled up the sun shone and we chose a place to go in. We eased into the chilly water, the weather changed almost instantly and it rained and hailed on us for the first few minutes and then the clouds parted and the sun came out to greet us.. The light reflected from the sky and the water became two toned for a while. At that time of year, i p also wear neoprene shirts and a rash vest on top of my swimsuit, along with neoprene, gloves and socks, It was still a very chilly swim; around 4c if I can remember rightly and two of us finished with a very brief skinny dip, it would have been rude not to! Loch Etive is a sea loch and so you do need to be mindful where you leave your belongings as the water level does rise and fall. It reaches the sea in Connel which is just North of Oban and is divided from the sea by the dramatic tidal falls of Lora. It length covers nearly 20 miles and is up to a mile across at its widest point. The name Etive is meant to mean “little fierce one” from the Gaelic goddess associated with the loch. At the place we swam, we were overlooked by Ben Starav, Beinn Trilleachann and Creag Dhubh. There are equally as beautiful places along the river Etive to swim but it is absolutely worth the drive through the Glen to the loch itself. There was a little bay that we entered at first and this was quite shallow, we had to walk over a bank of stones to get to the main body of water. What vistas! The light changed so quickly in the space of twenty minutes but this only added to the experience. Itvis one not to be missed. There is a little holiday cottage, called hollybank and a bothy near the banks of the loch and it is one I hope to stay in one day so I can soak in this place at sunrise and sunset. It felt other worldly and left a huge impression on all three of us that day.
The road through the Glen is single track with passing places, so it’s important to take care, don’t impede following traffic, and don’t park in passing places, there are designated areas to park along the way and at the very end of the road is a good sized car park. It will obviously get very busy in the summer, but out of season worked great for us.
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