Like most of us, we went into 2021 feeling hopeful that we were coming to the end of the pandemic, that with the introduction of vaccinations we’d all be out of the woods soon and back to normal life by maybe … Spring? Summer at the latest, anyway.
As we all know, it didn’t quite turn out like that. You don’t need us to rehash the last twelve months – we all know how it went. Yet despite the restrictions and gloom and ups and downs, we managed to make 2021 a year that we’re saying goodbye to with some memories that make us smile. We’ve climbed hills and mountains, cycled along green country lanes, swum in the sea at both ends of the country, watched dolphins burst out of the water so they were almost close enough to touch, and eaten lots and lots of delicious (plant-based) food.
2021 Review: Favourite swim
CAROLINE : Hard to chooose, but my favourite was probably a swim in a little loch near Aviemore called Loch Vaa. It was a beautiful, hot August day and the water was at least 12 degrees and felt wonderful in the hot sun. We both did handstands and swam as the children played on the shore. A perfect Scottish swim. I also had a lovely swim on my birthday in October in Loch Lubnaig. First thing in the morning, the water was as chilly and clear as you’d expect on a late autumn morning in Scotland. – the best way to start a birthday, and a new year of my life.
COLIN: I doubt I’m alone when I say that choosing a top swim is a challenge! Selecting the one that got away is, sadly, somewhat easier.
The swim that escaped me was the Ullswater Chill Swim, a seven-mile summertime epic from Glenridding to Pooley Bridge. Two weeks before the event I was struck down with Covid. Despite being at peak fitness, with regular winter swims and longer training swims behind me, overnight I went from a strong swimmer capable of swimming several sea miles to a weak swimmer who couldn’t bear the cold and who struggled to do 100m. It was a real blow, and while I’m still not back to the level of swim-fit I was in June I’ve high hopes for 2022!
So while the big Chill Swim escaped me, there were a plenty of other cracking swims during 2021. A night swim down the River Cam under a full moon. A freezing Loch Morlich dip with my sister. My first ice kilometre and other numb, fun swims with the Wardie Shiver Club. A roasting splashabout in Loch Vaa with my wife, kids and cousins and their families. A swoosh down the River Teith. The Fairy Pools with my son.
But with Wardie Bay on my doorstep until our move down south, it’s hardly surprising three of my favourite swims hail from there. In February, plummeting temperatures froze the sand and saw sea water turn to icy slush on the shore. On one particular day, big easterly winds brought in some serious waves, the remnants of a huge storm out to sea. The water was challenging 3.8C. My friends Lachlan, Christa and Tine and I went in anyway. Too stormy even for the surfers, we bounced about in the icy waves; gleeful, high, joyous. Massive grins and numb fingers.
Another top swim was with my friend Sam, when we swam from Wardie Bay to Newhaven Harbour and back for the first time. At around 2.8k there and back, it’s not a particularly long swim, but it was the first time I’d done it and there was a real pleasure in kicking off the harbour wall for the return leg, and experiencing the changing currents and flow for this great bay swim. He and I swam it a few times and I can’t wait to give it another go.
My third Wardie Swim was one of my last. A fond farewell swim with many of the fine folk, all of them friends, who we’d had the pleasure of swimming with over the past few years. Family aside, that’s what I miss most about leaving Scotland.
As much as these were all swimming highlights, my favourite swim of the year wasn’t about pushing the distance or braving the cold. It was jumping off rocks into a Trossachs loch with my friends George and Jen. I was still recovering from Covid – the week before a 100m swim had proved exhausting – so we’d opted for a splashabout instead. We cycled for a few km along bike trails to a hidden cliff overlooking a deep part of a wee Scottish loch. I struggled on the bike ride, and was nervous about the cold, remnants of Covid still making themselves felt. After a short scramble over brush, moss and heather, we came to this fantastic wall of rocky slabs reaching out into the water, the highest about two metres. Again and again we jumped off into the deep lack loch water. Diving down. Climbing out. Jumping off again. Splashing. Laughing. It was the best. Adrenalin and wellbeing flowed through me. I felt restored, physically and mentally.
2021 Review: Favourite camping holiday
Both of us had the same choice here – our camping holiday in Aviemore at Dalraddy in June!
CAROLINE :This was the second time we’d camped here, and for good reason – it’s such a perfect little campsite that has everything you could ask for. There’s plenty of space for each pitch, clean and modern showers and loos, picnic tables, a choice of electric hook up and of course an incredible location right in the Cairngorms with everything it offers on your doorstep. We camped here with family, with room for our campervan, tent and gazebo on our pitch, and their three bedroom tent on theirs. The site is huge but feels very safe, so children can roam around freely, playing football and hide and seek till the sun goes down. There’s even a shop that sells basics and a cafe with vegan food!
COLIN: It’s such a brilliant location, and while the facilities can be a bit or the basic side, I much prefer this to more sanitised sites. Loved the freedom it gave our kids, but also the proximity to so many activities and experiences. Bike hire and mountain biking. Gorge-walking and tree-climbing. Wild swimming and forest bathing. I can’t wait to go back and explore more.
Read more about our stay at Dalraddy here.
2021 Review: Favourite walk
We’ve had lots of walks in Scotland and England this year, in all weathers, up mountains, along meandering quiet rivers, across spectacular cliffs and around deep blue lochs.
CAROLINE: My favourite was our walk up the Fyrish Monument, near Dingwall, in late July during a family holiday in the Black Isle. It was a beautiful day with the sun splitting the skies when we climbed. This was both wonderful and slightly tiresome as the heat beat down on our backs as we emerged from the forest. The blue skies made views from the top even more spectacular, and once we’d taken in the great sweep of the Cromarty Firth and dark, looming Ben Wyvis, we admired the monument, built in 1783 by the local laird to provide employment for the locals. You can read more about our holiday in the Black Isle here.
COLIN: In October we enjoyed a big family gathering near Aviemore for my Auntie’s 70th. On the Saturday, as various folk went off on restorative bike rides, explores, walks or just endless games of hide and seek, Caroline and I, joined by one of our kids, took a hike up Meall a’ Bhuachaille, a cracking but serious Corbett that is famous for its views. With the path easy to follow, and the weather perfect, we easily made the exposed summit, although somewhat out of breath. Most of my Scottish hillwalking memories are of grey clouds and horizontal rain; Meall a’ Bhuachaille more than made up for it. There is a stunning panoramic view from the top, from the nearby Northern Corries of the Cairngorm range, over to Loch Morlich then reaching out to a stunning serrated skyline that wraps all around you.
After sugared almonds and rehydration at the top, it was time to get going. In general, I much prefer a steep ascent over the repetitive strain of a steep and winding descent, and Meall a’ Bhuachaille was unforgiving in this sense. An old climbing injury to my ankle means every step down jars, so by the time we were on the flat track back through beautiful woodland I was limping quite badly. But as we passed the stunning green An Lochan Uaine, a firm favourite and another top swim spot, spirits were lifted and aches eased when we bumped into a group of swimmers from Edinburgh! It was a tremendous coincidence and lovely especially to see Christine, Tanya and Susie, who I’d regularly swum with at Wardie Bay for the past few years.
Read more about our weekend in the Cairngorms here.
2021 Review: Favourite recipe
As always, we’ve made and eaten so much delicious plant-based food in 2021. and there were definitely a few standouts. Our vegan jambalaya with sausage, rice and red wine was a definite crowd pleaser, easy to make, and brilliant for camping. I loved our lemon spaghetti with chickpeas and sage from our new garden – best enjoyed alfresco in the sunshine. And the Edgy Veg’s lobster rolls made with hearts of palm are out of this world!
COLIN: As much as I loved Caroline’s campsite Peanut Butter Curry (it’s now a camping staple), one of my favourites is her Vegan Smoked Salmon Blinis with Sour Cream. Utterly delicious and a real treat! I love seeing folks’ reactions when you tell them the “salmon” is actually made from marinaded carrot! It’s a doddle to make; just needs a bit of planning. And the vegan goat curry from London-based vegan Caribbean takeaway Jam Delish at the Vegan Campout in September was out of this world.
2021 Review: Favourite moment
CAROLINE: We’re really lucky to have lots of wonderful 2021 moments to choose from. Standing on Chanonry Point shivering as we waited for a pod of dolphins appear and the excitement as a mother and her baby burst out of the water was one. Sitting around a campfire with family, playing twenty questions under the stars and eating marshmallows was another. And jumping into the cool Cam on a baking 30 degrees day in Cambridge was one more.
COLIN: Getting Covid was the low point of 2021. It knocked my fitness, but also hit my motivation. I’d given up coaching in Edinburgh, and had hoped to quickly reprise in Cambridge. Being ill within days of moving sapped all my motivation, which in turn led to a gloomy spiral that sapped my swimming and coaching mojo. So returning to swim coaching has been a massive thrill for me, especially as it’s at such a wonderful location, the historic Jesus Green Lido, the UK’s longest outdoor pool. One of the great things about coaching is being able to see, week on week, a swimmer’s improvement as you work with them. It’s incredibly rewarding, and I hope it’ll continue and indeed grow in 2022.
The other top moment of the past year was when our big family all got together. Grandparents and parents, kids and cousins, brothers and sisters, aunties and uncles, it was a joy to have (almost) everyone all in one place. It felt like a major victory against lockdown and all the restrictions and setbacks we’ve all had to bear. We hope you also had a similar happy experience with your families and/or friends.
As we go into 2022, we’re full of hope and excitement – hope that this year will be a little easier for all of us, and excitement about all of the things we can do, despite the C word. Happy new year!