Scotland


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1126" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/liliia-liliia-medc044NTzQ-unsplash.jpg" alt="Cold water swimming" class="wp-image-1686" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/liliia-liliia-medc044NTzQ-unsplash.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/liliia-liliia-medc044NTzQ-unsplash-300x225.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/liliia-liliia-medc044NTzQ-unsplash-1024x769.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/liliia-liliia-medc044NTzQ-unsplash-768x577.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>Have you got the urge to try cold water swimming? Will this be the January when you join a loony dook? Mad, brave or brilliant, if you fancy taking the plunge, wild swimming expert Alice Goodridge has given Muddy her top tips to make it a great start to the new year. We’ve also rounded up some of the better-known dooks from around the country. Who knows? Maybe you’ll get the bug?</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-have-a-practice">Have a practice</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1333" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Staffin.jpeg" alt="Loony dook cold water swimming" class="wp-image-1705" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Staffin.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Staffin-225x300.jpeg 225w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Staffin-768x1024.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>“It’s always a good idea to have done a dip when you don&#8217;t have hundreds of other people around you. That way you know how you&#8217;re going to react and how your body&#8217;s going to feel. Try and find a group of people who go cold water swimming to join in with. There are lots of groups up and down Scotland.</p>



<p>“Some people say to have a cold shower first. I&#8217;m not a massive fan of cold showers, but if you&#8217;re going to try and acclimatize to the cold by having a cold shower, make sure that you only let the water onto your body, like your shoulders and your back, and not straight onto your head.”</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dare-to-bare">Dare to bare</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="664" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/942CE802-6B47-4CDF-9F8C-AC5235BA56A9.jpeg" alt="Loony dook cold water swimming" class="wp-image-1709" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/942CE802-6B47-4CDF-9F8C-AC5235BA56A9.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/942CE802-6B47-4CDF-9F8C-AC5235BA56A9-300x199.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/942CE802-6B47-4CDF-9F8C-AC5235BA56A9-768x510.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>“Lots of people like to wear fancy dress for a loony dook. That&#8217;s all fantastic and fun, but be mindful that clothing is going to weigh you down in the water. You don&#8217;t want your fancy dress to get you into trouble. Better to go in in a bikini or something minimal, because then you know that you can get that off easily afterwards. You don&#8217;t want to be standing around afterwards struggling to get some tight thing off that you had on in the water.</p>



<p>“In some ways, bikinis are quite good because they&#8217;re easier to change out of afterwards. You don’t want to stay in the water for too long because of a risk of hypothermia. But if you&#8217;re dunking your shoulders under and then wading back out again, there isn&#8217;t enough time for your core temperature to have dropped enough for you to be at risk.”</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-don-t-dress-to-impress">Don’t dress to impress</h3>



<p>“Think about what you’re getting back dressed in too. It sounds like a really silly thing, but skinny jeans and leggings are really hard to get on when you&#8217;re cold and wet. Bring the most unattractive, baggy leggings or trackie bottoms and massive jumpers, because you’ll want to get into the easiest thing possible as quickly as possible.”</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stay-warm-while-you-wait">Stay warm while you wait</h3>



<p>“The thing with the loony dook is there’s often lots of people to coordinate and a lot of waiting around. Even if you&#8217;re in your swim kit and ready to go, keep a jumper on until the last minute, because you want to go in warm. You don&#8217;t want to go in having already cooled down before you even get into the water.”</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wear-a-hat">Wear a hat!</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1500" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/seema-miah-UPfLlvASwCA-unsplash.jpg" alt="Wear a hat cold water swimming" class="wp-image-1681" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/seema-miah-UPfLlvASwCA-unsplash.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/seema-miah-UPfLlvASwCA-unsplash-200x300.jpg 200w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/seema-miah-UPfLlvASwCA-unsplash-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/seema-miah-UPfLlvASwCA-unsplash-768x1152.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>“We have loads of blood vessels across our forehead and our head in general. If we keep our heads warm, we&#8217;re going to cool down less quickly. Keep it on when you get out of the water or, if you went in without one, put a wooly hat on straight away.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-take-the-plunge">Take the plunge</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1125" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/robert-bye-g01dSbWGwZk-unsplash.jpg" alt="Loony dook cold water swimming" class="wp-image-1683" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/robert-bye-g01dSbWGwZk-unsplash.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/robert-bye-g01dSbWGwZk-unsplash-300x225.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/robert-bye-g01dSbWGwZk-unsplash-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/robert-bye-g01dSbWGwZk-unsplash-768x576.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>“As you get into the water, your body has an automatic reaction to go into cold water shock, which is when you take a massive gulp of air in and then start to hyperventilate. Your skin sends a trigger to the brain that you need to go into fight or flight mode. To get over that, you need to be in control of your breathing. Make sure you&#8217;re breathing in, but also make sure you&#8217;re exhaling. One of my biggest tips is when you go into the water, to make some noise – let out a roar, a scream, a swear, a song. Any noise coming out of your mouth means that you&#8217;re not holding your breath and starting hyperventilate.”</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-keep-your-head-above-water">Keep your head above water</h3>



<p>“I would very strongly recommend not putting your face into the water at all. Get your shoulders under, control your breathing, and then, if you really want to dunk your head, do it just before you get out. Don&#8217;t just run in and plunge your head in straight away, because you get an even more extreme reaction to that cold water shock if your face goes into the water. Make sure that you’re actually exhaling and not gasping. And then if you still feel like you want to put your face in, do it at the end.”</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-feel-the-buzz">Feel the buzz</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="749" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/By-Kristian-Dela-Cour-Loony-Dook-CC-BY-SA-2.0-2.jpg" alt="Loony dook" class="wp-image-1682" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/By-Kristian-Dela-Cour-Loony-Dook-CC-BY-SA-2.0-2.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/By-Kristian-Dela-Cour-Loony-Dook-CC-BY-SA-2.0-2-300x225.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/By-Kristian-Dela-Cour-Loony-Dook-CC-BY-SA-2.0-2-768x575.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>“I dip in cold water pretty much every day. Honestly, it&#8217;s like having a triple espresso. I don&#8217;t know what it is exactly, but it just hits you. It highlights every sense in your body. You feel like your skin&#8217;s on fire. You feel like you can&#8217;t focus on anything else apart from the cold. I don’t stay there for any length of time to get cold. I&#8217;m just there for the shock of it. It increases your blood flow. A lot of people say it makes them feel alive. A really amazing sense of exhilaration and excitement.”</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-no-flashing">No flashing!</h3>



<p>“If there’s one piece of kit I think is really useful it’s a towel robe. It just means you can change anywhere without flashing. A lot of people have dry robes, which are brilliant, but aren’t actually that practical to get changed under. A really simple, really cheap towel robe is the kind of thing that will actually be most practical.”</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-warm-up-fast">Warm up, fast</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1488" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/toa-heftiba-FuvPDPj7f1o-unsplash.jpg" alt="Loony dook cold water swimming" class="wp-image-1680" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/toa-heftiba-FuvPDPj7f1o-unsplash.jpg 1488w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/toa-heftiba-FuvPDPj7f1o-unsplash-300x202.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/toa-heftiba-FuvPDPj7f1o-unsplash-1024x688.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/toa-heftiba-FuvPDPj7f1o-unsplash-768x516.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1488px) 100vw, 1488px" /></figure>



<p>“The most important thing when you get out of the water is to get the wet stuff off and get changed as quickly as possible. Then you can hang around for as long as you want. There’s a scientific reason for that. When you get out of the water, your core body temperature continues to drop right for about 15 minutes and half an hour after you get out of the water. It’s called the after drop. You may feel exhilarated and on top of the world as you&#8217;re exiting the water, but 20 minutes later, you&#8217;re going to be shivering and quite chilly. You don&#8217;t want to only just be getting changed at that point. Get out, get dressed as quickly as possible, and then have your hot chocolate and take your selfies.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">FIVE LOONY DOOKS TO JOIN THIS NEW YEAR</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="749" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Loony_DookBy-Kristian-Dela-Cour-Loony-Dook-CC-BY-SA-2.0.jpg" alt="South Queensferry loony dook" class="wp-image-1678" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Loony_DookBy-Kristian-Dela-Cour-Loony-Dook-CC-BY-SA-2.0.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Loony_DookBy-Kristian-Dela-Cour-Loony-Dook-CC-BY-SA-2.0-300x225.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2025/10/Loony_DookBy-Kristian-Dela-Cour-Loony-Dook-CC-BY-SA-2.0-768x575.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Organised loony dooks are great to take part in. There’s the adrenaline boost of being with lots of similarly mad people, and there’s the reassurance that you can be kept safe if you get into trouble.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Here are five famous ones, but check out your local RNLI station to find out if there’s one close to you on the coast. And, if you want to make your water-based insanity do some good, why not fundraise for <a href="https://www.agescotland.org.uk/get-involved/fundraise/challenges-events/1309-loony-dook-2025" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">charity</a> while you take your dip?</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">South Queensferry</h3>



<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/loonydook/?locale=en_GB" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The OG Loony Dook</a> was founded by three mad blokes trying to shake off a hangover in 1987 – or so the legend goes. It’s not a good idea to have a drink before you swim though so don’t follow their lead!</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Portobello</h3>



<p>If South Queensferry is the ‘official’ Edinburgh dook, Portobello’s its unofficial little sister. Hundreds of people head to Edinburgh’s seaside every year to throw themselves in the Firth of Forth. Keep an eye on Facebook for updates on tide times and, of course, the weather!</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Dornoch&nbsp;</h3>



<p>If you think the water’s chilly in the Firth of Forth, what about the more northerly waters off <a href="https://www.thisisdornoch.com/listing/new-year-hogmanay-celebrations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dornoch</a>, where the loony dook raises money every year for the East Sutherland Rescue Association.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Helensburgh</h3>



<p>Often at New Year there’s a swim in <a href="https://www.boatfolk.co.uk/rhu-marina-scotland/things-to-see-and-do/events" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rhu Marina</a> on New Year’s Day – the deep water docks mean it’s not as tide dependent. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Stonehaven</h3>



<p>Up in Stonehaven they’re too sensible to be described as loons –&nbsp;they have a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/StonehavenNippyDip">New Year Nippy Dip</a> instead.</p>



<p><em>Alice Goodridge has been swimming in open water since 2009. She moved to the Cairngorms National Park in the Scottish Highlands and now runs </em><a href="https://www.swimwilduk.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>SwimWild</em></a><em> to share her passion for open-water swimming. She leads swimming expeditions around the Outer Hebrides and guided swimming trips to remote peninsulas like Ardnamuchan and Knoydart.</em></p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-in-the-mood-for-more">IN THE MOOD FOR MORE?</h2>



<p><a href="https://scotland.muddystilettos.co.uk/things-to-do/walks/things-to-do-scottish-coastal-walks/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10 stunning Scottish coastal walks (binoculars and wild hair essential)</a></p>



<p><a href="https://scotland.muddystilettos.co.uk/best-places-to-live/scotland/isle-of-arran-ayrshire/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Best Places to Live 2026:</a> <a href="https://scotland.muddystilettos.co.uk/best-places-to-live/scotland/isle-of-arran-ayrshire/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Isle of Arran, Ayrshire</a></p>



<p><a href="https://scotland.muddystilettos.co.uk/eat/pubs-inns/pubs-with-fires/">Get cosy! 11 great pubs with roaring fires for dreich days</a></p>


Make a splash! 10 top tips for cold water dips and five Hogmanay loony dooks to join

You may also like