Wild Swimming
Scotland
Scotland
One thing Scotland doesn’t lack is water! Scotland, including the islands, has over 11 000 miles of coastline, sandy bays, sea lochs and coves to explore. Inland you will find numerous rivers, lochs, natural pools and waterfalls where you can swim surrounded by the most stunning landscapes and in total peace and quiet. So there are no shortage of options for a spot of wild swimming. Scotland has it all – hundreds of places to swim outdoors in natural beauty.
Whether you’ve never tried wild swimming before and just fancy a go at it whilst you are on your campervan holiday, or whether you are already a practised open water swimmer and want to experience wild swimming in the stunning Scottish landscape, here are 8 of our top spots.
This stretch of water is crystal clear and full of waterfalls and large rock pools that are perfect to spend a day dipping in and out of. In the summer they are incredibly popular, as the route to the river and pools is delightful.
Wild swimming in perfect river pools surrounded by the dramatic Glencoe is a special experience. There are many differed options of plunge pools along the river here and all quite near the road so perfect to park up and take an impromptu dip.
The Plodda Falls is Scotland’s second largest waterfall and at its base there is a huge plunge pool. It is freezing but perfect for a plunge!
Loch Morlich is a beautiful loch surrounded by forests and with the Cairngorm Mountains as its stunning backdrop. At the north end is a sandy beach over 1km long. You can rent wet suits and watersports equipment here, but will need to book.
Loch Morlich
At the bottom of the falls there is a deep canyon and it is possible to swim to the foot of the falls. Above the falls along a beautiful stretch of river surrounded by Scots Pine woods where you can enjoy the many natural plunge pools.
Coire Loch is a lochain (small loch) that is a hidden jewel in the highlands, perfect for a remote wild swim.
Some say that coming here is like having your own private beach at the side of a loch. If you’re lucky this could be you. Swimming surrounded by highland scenery. Perfect.
Swimming in Loch Ness from a secluded spot to access the shoreline is a must. One such place is across the fields opposite Urquhard Castle. Beware though, the shoreline is rocky and with many lochs there is a shelf close to the shore and then it gets deeper…and deeper…
It was here that Donald McBean, a soldier in the defeated government army escaped his Jacobite pursuers by leaping over this 18ft chasm. Hence the name Soliders Leap. It is a very beautiful wide gorge which opens onto a large river pool with a white pebble beach.
If you are new to the pasttime, there are a number of Wild Swimming Facebook groups that can offer tips and give you the opportunity to swim with other people if you prefer. On Facebook, you can find lots of information and support if you follow the Wild Swimming Scotland facebook group.
A few tips in the meantime. Please swim somewhere that matches your ability and the experience you have. Scotland has challenging terrain at times, and this includes our waterways.
Get into the water slowly (and make sure you can get out) and if you are somewhere remote, please don’t swim alone. Also, don’t jump in! It may look deep but there is no guarantee it is deep enough.
Wrap up warm when you get out asap. You can always ask us for extra towels when you are hiring one of our vans if you are planning on doing some wild swimming. One of the lovely things about having a van is the ability to pop on a heater and make yourself a warm drink to warm up after a dip.
You can find more suggestions for places to wild swim in Scotland on wildswimming.co.uk
Follow Calum McLean and his wild swimming adventures on Instagram for some beautiful and unusual places to inspire you.
This site uses cookies to monitor site usage and shares this data with Google Analytics. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. You can read more about the use of cookies on our site in our Privacy Policy
OKLearn moreWe may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.
Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.
These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.
Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.
We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.
We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.
These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.
If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:
We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.
Google Webfont Settings:
Google Map Settings:
Google reCaptcha Settings:
Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:
The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:
You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.
Big Sky Campers Privacy Notice