10 Lochs ( or correctly! 11 and 2 waterfalls) Trossach Challenge in 2025 – Wild swimming Scotland

10 Lochs in 2 Days: A Trossachs Wild Swim Challenge

We gathered on day one, a band of swimmers fuelled by excitement, nerves and the love for wild dipping – all of us were primed and ready to take on the 10 Loch Challenge.

Ten lochs. Two days. Countless memories.

We piled into cars and headed into the heart of the Trossachs – a landscape stitched together with lochs, forests, and misty hills. Each loch we visited had its own personality: some lay open and windswept, others were cradled gently in a womb of trees. The water varied wildly – at times glassy and silky, at others choppy and leaf-laden. We shared our swims with ducks, danced through fallen foliage, and even found delight entangled in waterlilies.

One loch offered a pause for reflection – quite literally – as we encountered Still, a remarkable installation by artist Rob Mulholland. His mirrored figure, standing silently in the water, captured something we all felt: awe, wonder, and a sense of being held by nature.

We had come from different backgrounds, cultures and locations – some local, some from as far as Sweden – yet we moved together in unison, encouraging and supporting one another at every stage. What bonded us wasn’t just our swims, but the shared joy of taking on something playful, personal and just a little bit daft.

Everyone approached the challenge in their own way. Some plunged straight in, others paused, took a breath, and let the moment carry them forward. One swimmer took a creative route altogether, opting out of a particularly choppy. face slappy dip by diving into the warmth of a nearby church coffee morning instead – where they reportedly made new (dry) friends and sampled three generous slices of cake to keep up morale.

We swam off private jetties, leapt from slipways, climbed over rocks into waterfalls, and even witnessed a spot of in-water pole dancing. We trekked through bracken, clambered over stiles  and picnicked in sunshine with the best kind of wild swim lunch – hot drinks, tasty pies, and the now legendary Oreo and Biscuitte fudge.

And then there were the costumes.

Faced with 10 dips in two days, swimmers dug deep into the depths of their swim kit drawers. We unearthed all the favourites, the forgotten, and the flamboyant. Some costumes were clearly veterans of many a loch – their faded colours telling stories of past adventures. Others were daring, plunging numbers that made bold statements, even bolder when paired with goosebumps. Sequins glinted, patterns clashed joyfully, and everyone looked spectacular in their own way. No two swimmers looked alike – a visual celebration of the wild and the wonderfully individual.

Our swim style? Iconic. Phannie caps in full floral glory adorned several heads, turning each loch into a catwalk (or maybe just a floating flowerbed). We danced our way into wet costumes, sang songs, flashed our assets (some more intentionally than others), and tickled the ears of some particularly intrigued pigs along the way.

By the end of day one, we’d conquered five lochs and a waterfall – and celebrated with a joyous, well-earned Indian meal together that warmed us from the inside out.s, a

On day two, we took on six more lochs and another waterfall, proving that adventure doesn’t ask for dry hair or neat plans – only a willingness to show up, plunge in, suggest swim no 11 although not on the agenda and laugh a lot.

We returned home waterlogged, sillier, and somehow shinier than when we began, dragging heavy bags of soggy swimwear and light hearts full of stories.

Here’s to the next challenge – and to wild swimming friendships that go deeper than the lochs themselves.