Images: Simon Porter, Julia Horton
Choking and spluttering I struggle forward, inhaling water instead of air as waves smack endlessly into my face.My goggles mist up but I can still see the vague shape of another swimmer in front of me as we make for a large orange marker float which is bouncing about crazily in the choppy waters of Loch Lomond.
On the far shore the majestic snowcapped mountains will soon be gilded by the warm glow of a magical winter sunset.