Glen Esk swim/run

I've been wanting to swim Loch Lee for a while now. A beautiful loch at the head of Glen Esk supplying water to the infamous North Esk river where I spent many years kayaking earlier in life!

Myself  on Triple Falls during the North Esk river race

Myself  on the Fish Ladder, North Esk 

Back to the swim/run. I decided to swim first as I was trying a new full wetsuit and didn't fancy running too far with it so after leaving the van at the car park I ran the 3km to the far side of the loch so I had the wind behind me on the swim.

                                     

Quite weedy here

                                   



                                     

I've used several tow floats in the past. The LOMO one for the money isn't too bad but like most floats it's rubbish for running any great distance. The straps are cheap and just not suited for running. I do like the double chambers and valves for redundancy though and the price is good.

New Orca Sonar, love it!

                   

The loch is quite weedy at the far end so I got in just past the worst of it and swam out to the middle of the loch. The weather wasn't too bad, cloudy with occasional burst of sun. The water was cold as it's mostly in the shade but when the sun came out I took advantage and flipped over onto my back to warm my feet and face in the sun. Great swim tho, although I was sighting the old house at the other end of the loch I was meandering quite a bit I managed to clock up 2.7km.

Mid loch selfie

                                   

House at the near side of the loch

                                   

Onto the run. This was a 22k plod over some unspectacular terrain but with some spectacular views towards Lochnagar and Mount Keen. The Angus hills aren't really my bag but it's fine to mix the hills up and get a change of scenery from the hills to the North and West. It's very close to home as well.

Loch Lee

Carlochy, will come back for this wee gem

 

Lochnagar

Total route 2.7kms swim/22.5kms/1500mtr run.


A great day out and a good work out. These sessions are all about the swim, the run is an added bonus. Although I did split the swim and run up with a visit to the van in between it's not a true swim/run. None the less it's a great all over body workout and such a great experience going from water to running shoes. I just can't get enough of this and have so many more routes I want to do taking in some bigger lochs and bigger runs! Watch this space..