Excuse me whilst I wipe a tear from my eye as I introduce this new book by adventurer Mollie Hughes. Blue Scotland, The Ultimate Guide to Exploring Scotland’s Wild Waters would make any swimmer drool and experience a sudden urge to drop everything and head straight to Caledonia.
And for me as a Scot who has emigrated to Australia, currently living in a landlocked area and experiencing a cold, wet winter, this book made me want to call Qantas straight away and fly north ASAP.
It’s the photography that really does me in, of course. Rachel Keenan has taken the most spectacular photos of the wonderful waters of Scotland, and the design of the book shows them to their best advantage.
Mollie’s descriptions of special places are entrancing too. Also very useful and informative, so that one could use this book as a guide on a swimming holiday around Scotland. It’s also a boon for any paddleboarders and kayakers looking for fantastic places to enjoy their sport.
When I opened the book, I looked down the list of watery locations and then turned straight to the Arisaig Skerries. Arisaig was where we went on our holidays when I was a very little girl. We used to camp or stay in a caravan or cottage and Dad would tow over the small boat he had built himself.
We would sail out to what we called the Sandy Islands and that’s where I learned the joy of swimming in the clear, bright, freezing Scottish sea.
Arisaig is one of my top spots to explore as a swimmer the next time I get back to Scotland.
So, this lovely book will be dipped in and out of many times. I shall use it to plan wild swims around Edinburgh, up on the Moray coast where my sister lives and all over the west coast and the beloved, bewitching Hebrides. Might even do some kayaking too!
If you are not already familiar with author Mollie Hughes, she is well worth getting to know through her writing in this book. Mollie is an amazing adventurer, the youngest woman to climb both sides of Mount Everest, and the youngest woman to ski solo to the South Pole.
Mollie brings her experience and enthusiasm to the words in this book and she has added in sections about safety, sustainability and being responsible when out in the wilds.
This beautiful book would make a fabulous present for a passionate water spots lover in any country in the world. Who isn’t quietly planning a visit to Scotland to explore its wild waters, after all?
I certainly am, and this book will help me explore many new areas as well as returning to my childhood happy places and enjoying them all over again.
So, shall I meet you out at the Sandy Islands?
Happy splashing, whatever your spot!