‘I am going again to the bay the place my spouse died each week’

Every week, former Scotland rugby worldwide Scott Hastings returns to swim within the bay the place his spouse Jenny took her life.

He says it has introduced him consolation and permits him to proceed her legacy by embracing her love for swimming.

Just over a 12 months in the past, the 60-year-old went lacking within the water at Wardie Bay in Edinburgh after going for a swim. Her physique was discovered within the space days later.

“I miss Jenny every day,” Scott advised BBC Breakfast.

“She had this amazing connection with people and probably concentrated on other people’s health rather than her own mental health.

“But she was match and energetic and needed individuals to get pleasure from life.”

The couple believed in the healing power of exercise and even led socially distanced aerobics classes outdoors for their neighbours during lockdown.

On the day of her disappearance in September 2024, Jenny had been visited by a mental health practitioner after her depression took a turn for the worse.

Scott had arranged to meet her in the afternoon for a swim in the Firth of Forth at her favourite spot in Wardie Bay.

During her darkish days, Scott said it was a “place of healing” for her.

But when he realised he couldn’t see her and instead saw her buoyancy aid tethered nearby, he contacted the coastguard for help.

Jenny’s body was found five days later, on the couple’s wedding anniversary.

She had lived with depression for 20 years before she died, and Scott said there had been several scares before.

Jenny disappeared from the couple’s Edinburgh home for 36 hours in March 2017 and walked for miles to the Pentland Hills, eventually getting help at a police station.

“When she was nicely, she was radiant and exquisite and outgoing,” he said. “But to see someone endure poor psychological well being was a problem.”

Returning to Wardie Bay has become a weekly ritual and allows Scott space to reflect on the couple’s 45 years together.

“The incontrovertible fact that we swim the place she went for her ultimate swim, it is very reflective and resonant,” he stated.

“I’m not disguising the truth that it is robust typically.

“It’s been good for me to almost carry on that legacy (since) she so enjoyed her swimming and exercise.”

Now simply over a 12 months after Jenny died, Scott’s former Edinburgh Rugby teammate Iain Sinclair is taking up an distinctive problem to lift cash in her reminiscence.

He begins an try at swimming the 60-mile size of the Caledonian Canal which connects the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

He is the primary particular person to aim to swim the waterway which cuts throughout the Highlands, from the west coast at Corpach close to Fort William to the east coast at Inverness.

This means he shall be within the chilly water of the canal, which hyperlinks man-made waterways and freshwater lochs, on a regular basis for as much as six hours.

Iain stated Jenny had “courageously battled” her psychological well being challenges and impressed many by her love of out of doors swimming – “a sport she excelled in”.

While different individuals have swum particular person lochs alongside the way in which, Iain has been given particular permission from Scottish Canals to move by all the canal gates.

“I think it’ll just be about keeping the body healthy,” he stated.

“I’m 48, not 28, and I think trying to do 10km – equivalent to a marathon swim – everyday for the next ten days will be the challenging part.

“I’ll want to ensure I preserve the physique match, wholesome and heat as a result of the lochs sometimes do not get very heat.”

Part of the money raised will be donated to a mental health charity, in memory of Jenny.

He is also raising money for Crohn’s disease and colitis, following his own serious health issues, and for the British Heart Foundation after the sudden death of his close friend Colin Maguire.

Iain will be backed by a support team which includes Scott, who said he might jump in to join Iain for a few lengths along the way.

“I believe it is nice as a result of it brings wider consciousness,” said Scott. “He’s been an inspiration for me and it is simply taking that legacy ahead.

“Jenny would’ve loved to have seen Iain doing what he’s doing and would be so proud of him. I can’t wait to get onto the boat to support him.”

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