A TEAM of hardy swimmers have pulled in thousands of pounds in donations for an Inverclyde charity after battling wind, rain and cold waters in a 15-hour fundraising effort.
Ardgowan Hospice staff member Fiona Conway joined sister Caroline Ross and friends Laura McDonald, Johanna Russell and George Walsh in a relay covering the length of Loch Lomond.
The group set off from Balloch at 5.45am, taking 45-minute turns in the water throughout the day.
They completed the 22.6-mile challenge when they reached Ardlui within 15 hours and 15 minutes, beating their target of 16 hours.
The women smashed their fundraising goal of £5,000, with their total now sitting at £7,100.
Fiona, head of finance and HR at the hospice, told the Tele: “It’s absolutely incredible.
“When we were going up the loch, we were watching the total on the page going up.
“People were donating as they watched the tracker and we got to just under £5,000 as we got to the end.
“That was something that kept us going.”
Fiona and her fellow swimmers had to ‘dig deep’ to complete the relay after the calm conditions turned to wind and rain around halfway through the swim.
She said: “It started off lovely and the water was flat calm.
“It was like a mirror so the scenery and Ben Lomond reflecting in the water was just incredible.
“We swam past Luss in nice calm water but later on it got a bit hairy.
“Just after Firkin Point the cloud came and the rain come on, so it got a bit windy.
“It was like that for the rest of the swim and at that point it got really cold and really challenging.
“On my last turn, I didn’t think I was going to get in the water, but I just had to.”
The gruelling conditions have not put the women off getting back in the water for a good cause, with Fiona already brainstorming for her next charity effort.
She added: “I would absolutely do something similar in the future.
“I would like to do Loch Lomond again in a couple of years’ time just to see if we could do it a bit faster.
“The other big challenge in Scotland is Loch Ness. It’s more challenging because it’s a lot deeper, so it’s a lot colder.
“I might think about doing that at some point as well.”
The team's JustGiving page will remain open until the end of August.
To donate, go to justgiving.com.
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