Grantham's Ross Edgley recalls challenge of 50-hour Loch Ness swim

Edgley swam continuously for two days and nights

An adventurer who swam continuously for more than two days in Loch Ness has spoken about the challenges he faced.

Ross Edgley, 36, from Grantham, had originally aimed to swim 100 miles (160km).

But after spending 52 hours and 39 minutes in the water and covering a distance of about 49 miles (79km), the swimmer ended up in hospital.

He made the attempt to support a sea kelp project, and said he "needed to do a swim that was worthy" of the cause.

He faced challenging conditions, with overnight temperatures dropping as low as 5C and winds of up to 20 knots

Edgley, who became the first person to swim 1,780 miles (2,864 km) around Great Britain in 2018, swam continuously without touching land or a boat for the whole period he was in the water.

"I know it looked brutal, but it was a good way to spend 50 hours," he told BBC Breakfast.

Describing the challenge, Edgley said he "ended up getting a bit of cellulitis" - a potentially serious skin infection - after swimming for 24 hours.

However, he said: "We had set a goal that we needed to raise awareness around protecting the sea kelp around Scotland, and we needed to do a swim that was worthy of that.

"24 hours was not enough and we decided to push on for another day.

"We definitely wanted more, and I think without certain ailments we could have gone on more, so there was a slight disappointment."

Edgley, who also faced challenging conditions, with overnight temperatures dropping as low as 5C and winds of up to 20 knots, said: "My stomach and I also fell out a bit, and that wasn't great.

"It was like trying to eat in a washing machine, and with a dodgy tummy."

But, despite finishing the challenge early, Edgley joked that he had probably set a record for eating the most bananas while swimming.

"You have to eat 120 grams of carbohydrates every hour on the hour," he said.

It was like an "eating competition with swimming thrown in".

Edgley undertook the challenge for a sea kelp conservation project

Despite the challenges, Edgley said: "For all of that hardship, Loch Ness will just reward you with an incredible sunrise and sunset.

"The people as well.

"Whenever you were feeling tired, people would just come out, and throw food at you.

"The hospitality in the Highlands was amazing."

Edgley, who is already considering his next challenge, made the attempt to raise awareness of the Scottish kelp seaweed forests with support of Skye whisky distillery Talisker and Parley for the Oceans, a non-profit environmental organisation.