The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Historic Kessock swim resurfaces after decades
Hugh MacLennan recalls vividly as a 12-year-old stripping down to just his trunks and plunging into the freezing water of the firth.
No wetsuit, just a nod to health and safety and a hot drink to recover from the cold, it seemed unremarkable to the young swimmer.
Open water swimming may have hit a wave of popularity at the moment, but it was a regular pastime for Hugh and his pals nearly 60 years ago.
Among his exploits was taking part annually in the Kessock crossing in the strait separating Inverness from the Black Isle.
The exposed stretch of tidal water between the village of North Kessock and South Kessock in Inverness was once the route of a small passenger and vehicle ferry.
It stopped in 1982 when the Kessock Bridge opened, taking the A9 north of Inverness.
The swim was not for the faint-hearted or casual swimmer and only a select few were deemed capable.
But in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, around 30
people, some as young as eight, made the crossing – and often the return – annually in an event that attracted crowds of around 1,000 people.
“You just arrived, got stripped down and off you went for a swim. You just got on with it,” said Hugh.
The Kessock Ferry Swim will return for the first time in more than 50 years on June 25, when around 250 swimmers from across the UK will take part.
Organised by South Kessock-based outdoor education charity Àban Outdoor Ltd, the response has been enthusiastic and it is hoped it will once again become an annual event.
It is thought the swim began in the late 1940s and ended in the late 1960s.
The Press and Journal reported in 1947 that a 12-year-old girl, Rosemary Macgillivray, completed the crossing in just over 20 minutes with three boys.
She was the first girl to achieve the feat and said afterwards it was uneventful apart from a school of porpoises surfacing near them.
In July 1950, The P&J recorded the achievement of Ian Black, who later competed in the Rome Olympics, as the youngest person to swim the Kessock crossing, aged just nine.
The following month, we reported that 12 members of the London Midland Scottish (LMS) amateur swimming club crossed the channel and back.
Hugh, 78, now a semiretired farmer on the Black
Isle, took part in several swim crossings (1,200 metres there and back) until 1961.
A keen swimmer, he was a member of the LMS and also competed in the Scottish Schools Championships for three years.
He said: “The first time I did the Kessock swim I was 12 and there were one or two younger than me.
“My father kept a couple of boats in the harbour and he ran one of the safety boats on the day.
“The first time I did it, I was quite happy to go just one way and my father was going to give me a lift back. But I felt pretty good and I decided to swim back too.
“Some people just did one way and some of the younger ones, although they could swim, tried it but had to get hauled out after going so far.
“People took it quite seriously and the crowd that came to watch was incredible.”
He welcomes the fact the event is being revived and will go to watch. A number of others who took part in the swim will attend on the day including Sandra Lea, 82, who participated in the event from the age of eight until she was 17 in 1957.
Johannes Petersen, the event organiser and founder of Àban, says the revival stems from conversations with local people.
“There are so many memories and stories.
“The charity does most of its work there, it’s a lovely piece of local history and ties in with the current outdoor swimming boom.”
Àban works with schools, community groups and other charities to offer lowcost, local outdoor adventures for children and families in need.
The event is raising money for local charities including Friends of Merkinch Local Nature Reserve.
With an expected water temperature of 11 degrees Celsius, all those under 18 are required to wear a wetsuit and all swimmers must use a high-visibility tow float.
Four power boats and a fleet of sea kayaks are providing safety cover.
As well as hoping to make it an annual event, Johannes has commissioned a history of the swim.