The Joy of Wild Swimming with Jules and Greg

Julie Wilson Nimmo and Greg Hemphill are best known for making us laugh and smile thanks to their iconic Scottish TV characters over the years, and their latest adventure into the world of Wild Swimming combines their love of fun with wellness, community, resilience, and sheer joy. We were lucky enough to have the pleasure of discussing their journey in the lead up to Series 3 of ‘Jules and Greg’s Wild Swim’ on BBC Scotland. In this Q&A, Jules and Greg talk about discovering their new hobby, what they learned along the way, and why wild swimming is about so much more than just taking the plunge.

Greg: For me, it was very early on. The first couple of times, I was like, holy cow, I feel amazing. I definitely want to do this again, and I can't imagine ever not doing it. That was the thing. It was pretty much almost instantaneous for me.

Jules: Same for me. I did it a couple of times with my friend Gail, and we did it down at Balloch, which is near Loch Lomond. I knew I was addicted to it because I couldn't wait to plan the next one as I was driving home. I'm the same as Greg, I completely knew very early on that I would do it forever. 

Jules: For me, it’s irresistible because I just know it's going to make me feel better. It's as simple as that, whether it be my anxiety is bad the night before, or I've not slept, or hot flushes from this menopause hell, or I just get the buzz. It's irresistible. It's the thing that I just love doing.

Greg: I've never been into mountain climbing, but I wonder if it's similar to the feeling of when you've been wild swimming in extreme cold, you just feel extremely alive when you come out. It's a lovely feeling, you feel like a superhero or something. 

Greg: I love this question. I would love to take Jules to Northern Montreal, a mountain range called the Laurentian mountains, which is a place I spent a lot of time in as a kid. I remember hearing the loons crying, it was incredibly gorgeous in October when all the leaves were changing. We used to visit an Australian family called the Hawkins. They had a house there called Billabong Hawkins, and I think Jules would love it. 

Jules: That sounds really nice. The place I would love to go wild swimming is Australia. I've actually been lucky enough to film in Australia, but I'd love to take Greg because he's never been and it would be wild wild swimming. I know there's things in the water. We would have to be very careful, but I would just love to go wild swimming in Australia with some fellow Scots that live there. Maybe in New Zealand as well. I just think that would be a lovely place for us to go swimming, proper wild swimming.

Greg: I like this question because it is a huge adjustment, or at least you think it is, but then you realise you're also kind of playing a part as well, even when you're playing yourself. As soon as those cameras start rolling, you have to be happy and excited and engaged, and adopt this enthusiastic role. I'm not saying that it's a million miles from yourself, but it is definitely a version of yourself. It's not quite a character, but it's still a version.

Jules: Greg's right. You do have to use your acting skills, because there's days where you go on set, and whether it be a drama or a comedy, that's your job. You have to be able to bring it when the cameras turn over. 

 Greg: Sometimes Jules has to smile at me, even when she can't be bothered. 

Jules: Well, exactly! Greg's right, but that's what acting is - pretending. It's very different because we don't have a script. We're not playing a part as such. But what I love about doing the Wild Swim show is that we can forget about ourselves as we're wanting to make other people feel comfortable to come and swim, and Greg's always trying to make me laugh. He's such a minx, he never stops. I do love the fact that we lose ourselves in other people's stories rather than us telling a story through a script.

Greg: So one of my favorite places we filmed for the pilot, it wasn't included in the show because there wasn't enough time, but it was a place called Loch Lubnaig, which I loved. It was a beautiful loch. It was just the tiniest little bit of wind that day. You stepped off this shelf into this impenetrable deep and it kind of felt like a metaphor for Jules and I's journey into the wild swimming world. We started off in the shallow, and then all of a sudden, we were almost out of our depth. It did reflect how we both felt in the pilot as people were telling us their stories and we had to wonder if we were the right people to be hearing all these incredible stories. 

Jules: I think loads of the islands stood out for us, and especially Barra, because that's where our director's from. That was really, really special. We landed on the beach! But when I shut my eyes and I ask ‘Where could I go for a swim today’, it's always, always, Loch Ness, Doris Beach to be specific, because that's where we came up with the idea for the show. We had an amazing swim there, which we've got on video somewhere, and we ended up swimming with a wee family of ducks! It was so deep, so quick, and just magical. It's just a really special place. I'd love to be able to go there again, but I think the islands as well, for both of us. We're going to go back without the cameras. We're desperate to go, and we've not been to St Kilda, that's on the list as well.

Greg: I think Jules and I, from the very outset, didn't want to be preachy about wild swimming and be saying, ‘You should try this. You'll feel better. Here are the benefits’. We were more interested in meeting people who had been doing it longer for us and had stories to tell. So for us, it was a case of us starting this new thing, so now let's meet people, experts, first timers, and hear the different stories for why they did it, because Jules is a really great people person. So first and foremost, that's what the show was about for me.

Jules: I'd love to say it was our vision from the start, but I think it sort of developed into that. The springboard was always going to be the wild swimming community, but very quickly, from the pilot, it was the friendships that came out really quickly, the groups, why they were together, and without being a bit cheesy, me and Greg's friendship as well and just how lucky we were to drive a wee van about Scotland and be wowed by the beautiful scenery. When we look back at the pilot, all of those things were in it, so I'm going to claim that that was our vision. 

Julie: I knew we were going to Orkney and were going to see this Italian chapel, and my mind just started going. We had talked about renewing our vows around a year before and just never seen it through. Then this came up, I researched it the day before, and said ‘I think we can maybe make this work’. We reached out to the vicar there, and he wanted to do it, and honestly, we didn't really know what it's going to be like. It was just lovely. We had to squeeze in at the end of a very long filming day so if the day hadn't gone so well, it wouldn't have happened, so we're really lucky that it did.

Greg: One of my favorite moments was when we got to Orkney. I absolutely loved it. I didn’t really know about the historical significance in terms of the naval battle between Britain and Germany and all of the submarines. You see a lot of the World War Two history there, it’s alive in Orkney. There are pillboxes there that look as if they were only deserted a week before. Before Germany moved into France, they used to go from northern Germany around Orkney and Shetland to get to the Atlantic so it was a really strategic point of conflict, which I didn't really know about until a couple of summers ago. It’s absolutely fascinating and beautiful to see that palpable sense of history. 

Jules: It's a deep dive companion into the swimming show, and we pick it up from series one right through to series two. Series three is about to come out in February, so maybe another book would be happening, but this one is basically a little behind the scenes of how we came up with the show, all our gorgeous crew that we film with, loads more about the contributors, some gorgeous pictures that myself and Greg took, and lots of tips about what you would need to start Wild Swimming. I've got a section on my hats. Greg's got a chapter talking about his tides and facts and stuff. I think if you like the swimming show, you'll hopefully like the book. 

Greg: I love this question, because a few of our contributors would tell us off the camera that they were taking us to one spot but not to another, because they didn't want it to become inundated. And we thought that was kind of sweet and good for conservationism so that little areas that were maybe more delicate wouldn't get overrun. So we always appreciated when people told us that, because we completely understood. 

Jules: And actually, we could have a whole series of secret spots that nobody gets to see on the telly, except we would have to turn the camera off when we got there. On the book tour, people would slip us bits of paper and say ‘When you are off camera, come to this place’. So I've actually got them all stuck into a book. I really respect the fact that they don't want their hidden places to be seen. 

Jules: Mine is easy because it came from filming Series Three. It would be Mary Queen of Scots. I never realised how badass she was until I went to see the Scottish ballet's production of Mary Queen of Scots this year. I would recommend it to anybody who's thinking about going to see it, it’s fantastic, but she was really gung ho and I think she would be an absolute riot to get in that water with. I don't think it would phase her. I think she'd know how to do the breathing. She would just be brilliant, and I'd love to spend time with her. 

Greg: I am going to take the legend that is Alex Ferguson, because I heard a story from Gordon Strachan told on a podcast about how when players in Aberdeen were injured or had a knock, Alex Ferguson would take them into the North Sea. This is the early 80s so he, in some ways, was the original wild swimmer. Now, I know Alex is in his 80s now, so we would take really good care of him and make sure he didn't get any shocks. My dad was a massive Manchester United fan and I really see a correlation there so would love to take Sir Alex for a swim.

A huge thank you to Jules and Greg for taking the time to chat with us about their exciting new projects. We can’t wait to dive into Series 3 of Jules and Greg’s Wild Swim very soon and discover some more gorgeous swimming spots! Series 1 & 2 are now streaming on BBC iPlayer. 

If you feel inspired to take up wild swimming, make sure you find yourself a copy of Jules and Greg’s Wild Swim Guide to research the best spots near you, and learn more about the brilliant community. Don’t forget to tag us in any adventures at @meanderapparel and use the hashtag #everydayadventures.