A GROUP of tenacious Inverclyde ladies braved the waves at Lunderston Bay to give their health and wellbeing a life-changing boost.

Your Voice has teamed up with Lisa Boonsanong from Happy and Wild to offer new cold water swimming and therapy sessions at the beauty spot.

The invigorating activity has been proven to help alleviate anxiety and depression, improve the immune system and deepen sleep.

Lisa, who is an open water swimming coach, was approached by Gaynor Lochhead from community care forum Your Voice about launching the open air swims.

Lisa said: "There are so many benefits and it's definitely growing in popularity.

"It helps improve mental health and is good for muscle soreness and symptoms of stress.

"It's also really good for encouraging people to get out and embrace nature and enjoy the amazing scenery we have here on our doorstep.

"I'm delighted that I'm able to offer this to everyone."

In the three blocks of six sessions, participants will learn how to acclimatise to cold water safely and understand the body's response to the chill.

At the end of the three blocks, all 30 participants will be invited back for a social splash about followed by brunch on the beach.

Gaynor approached Lisa about running the sessions when the organisation received a post-Covid grant to encourage people back into healthy activities.

She said: "I thought it would be good to use some of the funding to give people the opportunity to try cold water therapy.

"It's an incredible activity and feels fantastic.

"You feel warm after it as your body is working really hard to heat you up.

"We want to get more men involved in it too.

"When people have gone through the course, they can go on and continue to enjoy wild swimming and enjoy our beautiful coastlines and lochs safely."

First-time open water swimmer Leigha Cooke said taking the plunge in the Firth of Clyde was an amazing experience.

She added: "It was really exciting and it cleared my mind.

"It's great knowing that I've done something challenging."

To find out more about the cold water swimming sessions visit www.yourvoice.org.uk/whats-on or call 01475 728628.