Although the Scotch Channel (also known as the Irish Channel or the 'North Channel') between Britain and Ireland has been swum before, no-one had ever swum it between its narrowest parts - i.e. between the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland and Torr Point in Ulster. Previous swims had gone from further south between Galloway and County Down. Even there the great depth of the Channel ensures that the water temperature is near-freezing all year round and the notorious lion's mane jellyfish mean that this swim is only attempted by those with the stoutest of hearts. Only 4 individuals have ever swum this route.

The northerly route (between Kintyre and County Antrim) was deemed off-limits for any human swimmer because in addition to the cold and the jellyfish it also features terrific two-way currents which are among the most powerful and most treacherous in the world. That was until this week, however, when Wayne Soutter from South Africa swam just that route:

Wayne Soutter makes history with North Channel swim

Vizzer - Is it actually called the Scotch Channel, as this indicates it is full of whisky, shouldn't it be the Scots Channel?

That swim made the news here though I didn't hear the details of why it hadn't been done before.

I keep saying that this use of Scots for everything bar whisky is modern; my grandmother always insisted the adjective to be used for things Scottish was Scotch, not Scottish or Scots. I don't know if that was a regional thing or Scotland-wide.

Caro wrote:

That swim made the news here though I didn't hear the details of why it hadn't been done before.

Swimming the width of the Scotch Channel is 13 miles. Now someone has swum its length (59 miles) plus another 1721 miles on top of that:

Ross Edgely's Great British Swim

Always called the North Channel on the shipping forecast