Feeling the power of the water on a year-long swim of the River Tay

Dressed from head-to-toe in thick neoprene including hood, gloves, socks and goggles, Calum Maclean is ready for the final leg of his year-long swim of the River Tay.

The experienced outdoor swimmer, who has a huge following on social media through his wild swimming films, started the challenge in January when the temperatures were plummeting.

Every month throughout the year the 37-year-old picked up from where he left off and swam yet another section of Scotland's longest river.

"I just wanted to know what the river was like," he said. "I wondered to myself 'Could it be done?'"

Calum said he wanted to grasp the opportunity at an age when he could, because "one day will come when I will not be able to do it."

The source of the 119-mile river is a tiny spring on the mountain Ben Lui, in Argyll.

But Calum, who lives in Aberfeldy, decided to swim the river proper from near Kenmore in Perthshire.

Ahead of the feat, he recruited friends who are experienced outdoor instructors to kayak beside him and guide him through any dangers. Rocks, currents and tides were the main concerns.

He said the germ for the idea was planted in 2018 after friends had swum from Perth to Dundee in a single trip.

Calum experienced a full range of weather, from -6C on the first day of the swim to 30C in the middle of the summer. He also navigated the river when it was at its lowest level in 60 years after a long dry spell.

Calum said throughout the year it was a joy to see the changing of the seasons.

He chose to swim one section in the darkness of a March evening, under an almost full moon.

As he swam between Grandtully and Logierait in Perthshire his support team encountered a group of beavers.

The sound of one beaver smacking its flat, paddle-like tail onto the water to warn off the group was an experience not to be forgotten.

Further downstream, on a later leg, Calum said he was delighted to see "massive otters in the middle of Perth."

But the wildlife highlight for Calum was seeing a group of sand martins on the riverbank near Meikelour in Perthshire, which he said "were flying around our heads."

It wasn't just wildlife Calum encountered. In the water around Luncarty he found what he believed to be an air pistol.

But, despite the River Tay being famed for its salmon, he never once encountered one.

On the final leg, Calum and his support crew set off from Balmerino in Fife bound for Broughty Castle on the outskirts of Dundee where the River Tay finally meets the North Sea.

This last section of the river, like previous stretches from Perth, is dictated by the tides.

Calum said the distance is eight miles but because of the pull of the tide going out to sea he actually only swam five.

As he swam, he could "feel the power of the water" pulling him along in the middle of the wide estuary and even when he stopped for a rest the water carried him along.

As the group of three kayaks and Calum moved towards the Tay Rail Bridge, the head of an inquisitive seal popped out of the water, and another seal came for a look at the colourful troupe.

The seals tracked the team for a while, always keeping a distance away, their large eyes and nostrils a striking site.

As Calum got close to the docks area of Dundee his destination, Broughty Castle, was perched on the coastline in Broughty Ferry. One final push and the welcome sand of the beach was in sight.

The 75-mile journey was over.

"The last hour felt like a bit of a struggle to be honest. I should have eaten something, I was running out of energy," he said.

But he's "satisfied and vindicated" that his idea had been achieved and he paid tribute to his support crew

"I wouldn't have been able to know exactly where to go without these guys."

Reflecting on his swim, he said he has learned that the River Tay is incredibly varied.

"Upstream of Stanley, it's very mixed and rocky and there's lots of bits where you are floating rather than swimming to avoid stones.

"But the whole section from Perth, down to Balmerino, down to Dundee almost, I had no idea about it, I didn't realise it was so nice with the big reed beds.

"Although it's very muddy, as a swim, it's very satisfying to do."

And now he's completed his challenge he's already thinking of new ways to explore the river.

"I feel like, although I've spent a year, or 15 days swimming down it, it's only just grabbed my interest for the river."

Calum wants to return to some sections again to snorkel, to see what lies beneath and take more time to enjoy it.

"I think I will be swimming in it, and studying it, and finding new bits of it," he said.