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Advice to help make your coastal walks safer this winter

11 December 2018

Winter walks along the coastline: they’re refreshing, they help you work off all those mince pies and they usually introduce you to some stunning scenery. But there are risks involved too.

Arabella Kuszynski-Shields – a volunteer lifeboat crew – explained to Timeline that a third of the annual call-outs at RNLI Queensferry are to Cramond Island.

A pipeline covered in concrete connects the nearby village of Cramond to Cramond Island and can be walked across for about two hours either side of low tide. The rest of the time, however, it’s submerged, meaning that dog walkers, campers and tourists interested in the island’s World War Two fortifications are often caught off guard and get stuck on the island.

Coastguard volunteer Arabella stressed the RNLI doesn’t want to discourage people from winter walks along the coast, but she did have some advice on how to try and be safe:-

Advice for coastal walks in winter

Wear appropriate footwear and take care where you are walking, as ground can be slippy.
Wrap up warm. Even if it doesn’t seem that cold a day, the weather can change quickly at this time of year.
Tell someone where you’re going, who you’re with and what time you plan to return.
If you end up needing emergency assistance, phone 999 and ask for the coastguard.
If you do accidentally enter the water, try to relax; focus on floating rather than swimming.