Outdoor swimming in the Trossachs

A few weeks ago I came across an article in The Times about wild swimming which mentioned the Scout Pool near Callander in the Trossachs. So this morning I suggested it to James, and after a pleasant drive we parked the car in the Bracklinn Falls car park. It’s about a 5 km round trip to the swimming hole, so when I saw a sign up to the Callander Crags on our way I suggested that we add this to our walk. I quickly regretted it because the day was warm and humid and the narrow track, which was both rocky and boggy, climbed steeply through the trees to the Jubilee Cairn, erected in 1897 to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. However when we got to the top the views over Callander and beyond were fantastic. James pointed out all the hills that we could see as well as Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument. As I rested at the top James was attacked by flies so we had to beat a hasty retreat. Insects love him! Back down at the path we continued north to a bridge over a waterfall then followed a little path down to the circular swimming pool. It was everything that I had hoped for; surrounded by rocks and ferns, with a beautiful waterfall splashing into it. I changed into my swimming costume and had a wonderful time swimming around, swimming as close to the waterfall as I could then allowing myself to be swept around the pool by the current. It wasn’t even all that cold, although it did cool me down nicely after the hot walk to get there. It was grand.