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Swimming with seals

I was very lucky recently to have a swimming experience with seals that was both magical and humbling. On a recent visit to my mum’s house in Orkney, where she is lucky enough to be almost close enough to jump into the sea from the decking outside her living room (how many of us would like that?) I was taking a dip when I had the pleasure of being joined by a couple of grey seals. It’s always lovely to swim in Orkney but this swim was made very special by the seals. Two of them surfaced about 2-3 metres from me and close enough to allow me to hear their breathing, having them that close made me realise quite how fragile we are in the water compared to these graceful creatures and how I was very much in their territory! I’d like to think that the jump out of the water and large splash as I came back in was them not wanting me to leave! Not only was this an amazing experience for me, but for my whole family who all saw it from the house, and inspired two of them to swim with me a couple of days later, hoping to recreate that experience which was sadly not to be!