1.3 miles of open water. Twenty six swimmers, some from as far off as Yorkshire. Not an event for the weak chinned.

The Lamlash Splash is a yearly event held for hardy swimmers to make the crossing over the open sea from Holy Isle to Lamlash for the sake of raising money for charity. The challenge is grueling enough in itself, but what is most surprising is the number of courageous success stories that come out of such events.

Take for instance Dawn Ulivi, a mother of three, who raised over £700 for diabetes charity in doing the swim. Her daughter’s friend, three-year-old Daisy Slatter, was diagnosed with diabetes last year, making her one of the youngest persons in Scotland to have the disease.

Or consider Rory Hunter, who completed the 1.3 mile sea crossing and won the Ali Bodie Memorial Trophy for showing the most character out of all the swimmers… and he is all of 12 years old. Alison “Ali” Bodie happened to have been an extraordinarily courageous woman who did the sea crossing twice, despite having terminal cancer. Her family donates the trophy to the recipients.

This year’s event was won by Fergus Sim. Although the Splash is not competitive in nature, the Glasgow based tri-athlete wowed everyone present by his blistering speed.