Brave swimmers venture to Lamb Island to collect rock for Uri Geller

The Salty Selkies made the 2km swim to the island – which is owned by Geller – off the coast of North Berwick as part of a campaign to raise money for town-based charity Beach Wheelchairs.

Beach Wheelchairs rents out accessible wheelchairs so that people with disabilities can enjoy time on beaches in North Berwick, Portobello and Seton Sands.

The group are keen £18,500 to purchase a new motorised wheelchair to be used across all three beaches.

Seven swimmers – Meg Maitland, Jo Lindsay, Jo Hood, Jeremy Milne, Bronwyn Macaskill and Claire Gardner from North Berwick and Linda Malcolm from Tranent – took on the challenge alongside a support crew in kayaks and a boat.

Speaking of the challenge, Meg Maitland, one of the Selkies, explained why they wanted to help out the charity and bring back Uri's "magical rock".

She said: "We were alerted to Beach Wheelchairs raising money to buy what they call an X8 powered wheelchair.

"I thought 'we could do a swim for it' and that's how it started.

"When we discussed what we were going to do, we had it in mind that after the last swim Uri Geller had asked us to pick a rock up next time we were passing."

Meg, 66, was aware of the work that Beach Wheelchairs provides the community but was inspired to help raise money when she realised how big a role they play in helping those with disabilities.

She said: "Until you are down there and you look into it you don't realise how much benefit it is for somebody in a wheelchair to try and get onto the beach.

"And the work they do is amazing – most of us swim three or four times a week and we can get onto the beach no problem at all and you don't realise how difficult it is for somebody who is not able to do it."

Speaking of the swim, Meg stressed that while the Lamb was quite close to the shore it can be a particularly treacherous swim as well.

She said: "Because of the way the Firth of Forth runs it's like a funnel, the water runs in and the water runs out. When it runs it can be really treacherous."

North Berwick High Street ladies' clothes job owner Meg said that swimmers had to be careful with the tide and normally there was only a small window – weather permitting – when the challenge could even be attempted.

She added: "We couldn't hang around, we had to swim straight back as the tide was already rising and swim back was much tougher."

Despite being so close to the coastline, the conditions make the Lamb isolated to most people and Meg highlighted how very special it was to step foot on the island.

She said: "A little beach appears at low tide and we actually swam through a little channel onto this beach, stayed for about for five minutes and swam out the other side.

"But the feeling of being on a beach in the middle of the Firth of Forth is very special."

She added that bringing Uri back his rock made the adventure that bit more special, even if she was slightly sceptical of the supernatural element.

The seven Salty Selkies that made the trip

So far the group have raised more than £3,700, including a generous £1,000 donation from Geller himself.

Geller purchased the rocky outcrop in 2009 for £30,000, believing that it, and other islands in the Forth, held a connection with the great pyramids in Giza.

More recently, he has declared Lamb Island its own 'micronation' with its own flag, anthem and constitution while also adopting a local amateur football club as the island's national team.

He was made aware that the Selkies were taking on this swimming challenge to his island and asked them to bring back a rock that he could display in his museum in Jaffa, Israel.

Speaking to the Courier, Mr Geller was hugely grateful that the Selkies took on the challenge for both him and the great cause.

He said: "I'm elated: I cannot believe a group of Scottish women, so courageous, would swim over to my Lamb Island.

"The waters around the island are treacherous, there are underwater currents that can basically wipe you out into the sea. It's not warm, it's very cold and it's very rocky to get to the island.

"And they did it! You know, courage, inspiration, motivation! And I do believe that there is some type of an energy around Lamb Island."

He planned to get the stone tested in Israel with the hope of finding more out about the island's origin and history.

Geller also thanked the group for their unbelievable efforts that would raise vital funds for an important cause.

The group are still raising money to help fund the wheelchair and those wanting to donate can visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/the-salty-selkies-beach-wheelchairs