The Scottish Inner Hebrides are about as wild as wild swimming gets.

You can camp on uninhabited islands and swim with seals. The Gulf of Corryvreckan, a whirlpool of tidal flows that only calms down for an hour at slack tide, is a target with some swimmers, and can be attempted with SwimTrek.

Hazards: The swim across the 0.6 mile stretch between Jura and Scarba is not to be taken lightly. At high tide, the water rushes through this stretch at 8.4 knots and creates a fascinating series of whirlpools and water patterns, due to a deep hole and rising pinnacle beneath the surface. At its height, the Corryvrechan is known as the third biggest whirlpool in the world.

Kate Rew

Related Websites: Also see OSS Member Diana Appleyard's story about swimming the Corryvreckan here.

Water Type: Sea

OS Grid Ref: NM696021
Lat/Long: 56.15568, -5.71152

Click here to get directions (Multimap.com)


This entry updated: 15/01/2010