Scots grandmother completes nine-mile swim from North Berwick to East Lothian

A Scottish grandmother has completed a nine-mile swim from North Berwick to East Lothian

Linda Malcolm dodged seals, a shipping tanker, and jellyfish “the size of dogs” to complete the 15km journey across the Firth of Forth in just over six hours on Wednesday.

The 74-year-old, who equalled the time set by a relay team of three women in their 40s and 50s, said: “I’ve never swum that far in open water before.

“It was a good swim, but for about three-quarters of the swim, the tide was coming in the estuary, so it was hitting me sideways, so I had to keep correcting myself.

“The waves were taking me left, and I was constantly having to correct that to keep on a straight line, so I had to be aware and be careful.”

She added: “There was one big cargo ship that went past, but all the shipping had been advised about the swim, so they had all been diverted.

“I was the VIP on the sea today. I don’t worry about anything.”

Claire Gardener, who was part of the relay swimming team beside Jo Lindsay and Bronwin Macaskill, said: “It wasn’t a spur of the moment decision – undertaking a challenge of this magnitude takes months of planning and training.

“As well as a fitness and weights class twice a week, Linda slowly built up her swimming mileage – reaching 12k in practice swims before the event.

“There was never any doubt in her mind that she was going to do it, despite only having three hours’ sleep the night before due to a mixture of nerves and excitement.

“The relay team had started and finished before Linda, so we were able to cheer Linda in as she swam into Elie! We all jumped back into the water to swim the last few yards with her, but still couldn’t keep up with her!

“It was incredibly emotional when she hit dry land after more than six hours of swimming.

“Champagne corks were certainly popping.”