Making a splash

I've done some daft things during this Grab a Glen avalanche of active sports, but not many dafter than trying to swim outdoors on an autumn day in Scotland. For me autumn is normally a time for admiring how pretty the trees are from inside a cosy house. Not this year. I was in a good company at the weekend, though, with 2,000 other hardy souls as part of the British Gas Great Scottish Swim in Strathclyde Park. The Glasgow area is full of surprises and if starting the day in North Lanarkshire with a chilly dip was not strange enough things got even more surreal after lunch when I went skiing indoors!

The organisers say they welcome 'swimmers of all abilities' and I took them literally. I would not be up there with participants of the likes of swimming greats from Scotland, such as Commonwealth Games gold medal winner Robbie Renwick and Dave Carry, and international visitors Jan Wolfgarten from Germany and Petar Stoychev from Bulgaria. My main aim was not to trouble the racing clock too much, more just to get back out in one piece.

 the British Gas Great Scottish Swim in North Lanarkshire
 

The most essential piece of equipment for an extended dip in Strathclyde Loch in September is not a pair of goggles, though they are handy too. What you really need is a wet suit and I lined up looking like the Marshmallow Man out of Ghostbusters, but cosy nonetheless. This illusion of warmth disappeared as soon as I hit the water. Wet suits are designed to keep you warm with a layer of water between the suit and your skin, but this took its own ice age to heat up! Soon, though, I was into my stride and splashing off across the loch.

The beauty of this swim is that it is all things to all people. The bodies behind the event, Nova International (the event is part of their Great Swim series) and EventScotland, try to encourage as many people as possible to take part and it is a great thing to train towards, getting you fit as you practice. Anyone who is reasonably fit and an ok swimmer can have a go and many swimmers also help raise money for charity as they go.

As soon as I'd warmed up it was time to get cold again, this time a bit closer to the city centre. Xscape at Braehead is the setting for one of the most remarkable visitor attractions in Scotland, the SNO!zone. Here in this artificial ski field you can enjoy skiing and snowboarding. As well as the piste itself and uplifts they also offer lessons and coaching so that skiers and snowboarders of all ages and abilities can get more out of getting active. It is not all about honing serious skills, though, as they also have a range of fun family activities such as sledging, ice slides, hammerheads and ski rides.

 skiers on the slopes at SNO!zone in Glasgow

Scooting down the perfect snow I soon forgot I was indoors until I looked up and was not surrounded by the sweeping mountain peaks I was half expecting to see. What greeted me instead was the sight of a welcoming bar for a touch of après ski, a welcome sight I can tell you at the end of a day swimming and skiing around Scotland's buzzing and seriously active largest city.

Find inspiration on other Glasgow city activities.