I’m a real-life mermaid – I spend £100 on tails & get strange looks from fishermen but I don’t care, the sea’s my home
A REAL-LIFE mermaid has revealed she gets very strange looks from fishermen when she swims in the sea – but insists the water’s her home.
Kate Macleod, 26, from Uig on Lewis, regularly goes for a dip in Scotland’s freezing waters complete with her own Ariel-style tail fin.
She also documents her mermaid adventures on social media (@hebridean.mermaid) where she boasts thousands of followers.
She said: “I do get some very strange looks, especially from the experienced fishermen, because they go through all these courses about all the dangers of the sea.
“They’re also taught how to save lives and to survive exposure if they end up in the water — then they see me splashing around.”
She adds: “There was one time during one of the named storms when it was getting dark and I wanted to head out but my dad said, ‘No you’re taking this too far — you’ve got to stop this.’
“But I went in the next day, when it was still absolutely wild. Some say I’m mad but it’s good for the soul.”
Kate was raised in the Outer Hebrides by boat company owner dad Murray and mum Janet, along with brother Seumas.
She got a taste for icy dips early on with the family’s own version of the New Year’s Day Loony Dook.
Kate, who appeared in BBC ALBA show Miann na Maighdinn-mara (Mermaid Tales), admitted: “Even back then they always had to drag me out of the sea. I never wanted to leave. Everyone else would be dressed and shivering and I’d still be splashing about in the water.”
Kate began using a monofin — like one giant flipper — for her dips, before having mermaid tails custom-made in Hawaii.
She says: “The tails cost around £100 plus post and packaging.
“I got another one that is silver and makes me look a bit like a giant mackerel. But some folk spend thousands on them.
“There are mermaid communities around the world but they’re usually in warmer climates. I can’t imagine there are any in Scotland because it’s just so cold.”
She adds: “I have always been into mermaid mythology and sea creatures. But when I’ve got the full tail on, I kind of feel like one of them when I’m in the water.
“It’s like home when I’m in the sea. It’s where I’m meant to be.
“So when people ask why I need the tail for that, it’s like my childhood dreams come true.”
But it’s not all Disney princess fairytales when Kate is faced with the unforgiving North Atlantic.
She admits: “When you first put your head under water it’s like someone smashing your head with a hammer. Sometimes the pain doesn’t go away for the entire swim.
“It’s because we are pretty exposed here in Uig as we’re on the west coast of Lewis.
“During the summer the sea is actually quite warm and gets up to around 14°C. But during the winter it’s around 5°C.”
And Kate has some top tips for anyone nutty enough to want to try wild winter swimming.
She says: “You’re best to just plunge straight in and always keep your hands in the water, because when they are out they get so cold you will probably end up coming out the sea.
“Eventually you become numb to the water. It sounds worse than it is but once you are numb you then start to enjoy it.”
She adds: “When you go into the sea you don’t think about anything else.
“It gives you this incredible sense of perspective and peace as well and you see that all your worries were ridiculous.”