31 Aug 2022
On 11 August 2022, six members of the “Donald clan” family swam 22.6 miles in Loch Ness to fundraise for six different charities.
Switching the swimmer every hour, the family – with an age range of 28 to 62 – spent 17.2 hours in the 13 degree Celsius water.
Carol Murphy, the swimmer who chose to raise funds for London’s Air Ambulance Charity, said: “It was such a beautiful day, but so windy! Never did I imagine the weather could make a loch so choppy!
“But we soldiered on and got in the water at 04:12. After taking it in turns, we were finished by 21:22.”
Carol’s cousin Lisa was the individual who thought of the relay, after the family enjoyed some wild swimming on a camping trip. The swim had been planned for previous years, but postponed due to COVID-19. This summer, the wind created such choppy conditions that the swim was delayed again for almost a whole week.
“It was brilliant to finally get in the water,” said Carol. “Although I’m not sure if the others will listen to Lisa next time she has an idea!”
After working as an ambulance technician in Scotland, and with Surrey ambulance in England, Carol wanted “a local good cause to support” as her selected charity. She chose London’s Air Ambulance Charity and has so far raised an incredible £818.
We’re very grateful to Carol and the Donald Clan for their fabulous fundraising – they are the first to ever raise funds for our charity with a Loch Ness swim!
Carol said: “We’d all like to thank our Skipper Stewart and his company Loch Swim Alba for all their encouragement!”
If you’re interested in fundraising for London’s only air ambulance service, please get in touch via [email protected].