Morven McFadden – known locally as Minnow – is Thistlewick’s resident wild swimmer and all-weather daredevil. Rain, hail, or sleet, nothing stops her from diving right in. Locals have given up trying to guess when she’ll appear – one minute she’s sipping tea by the loch, the next she’s halfway across it, laughing like a kelpie on holiday.
She claims her ‘secret’ to staying warm is a combination of oatcakes, stubbornness, and believing she’s part seal on her mother’s side. Her trusty goggles are always within reach, and her deep purple dryrobe flaps dramatically in the wind like a superhero cape.
After each swim, she rewards herself with a flask of hot chocolate and a bag of crisps ‘for balance’, before striding home barefoot, leaving a trail of bravery and biscuit crumbs behind her.
