A group of hardy fundraisers have completed a swim to an uninhabited Scottish island owned by Uri Geller to collect a rock for the celebrity magician.
The Salty Selkies braved the Firth of Forth waters to swim to The Lamb last week.
Self-proclaimed psychic Mr Geller bought the island, off North Berwick in East Lothian, in 2009.
He spent a night on the basalt lump back in 2010 but forgot to take a rock home with him after the experience as a memento of the remote location.
Mr Geller also wanted to test the age of rocks from The Lamb, as he believes there could be a connection between the Scottish outcrop and the Egyptian pyramids.
After reading about The Salty Selkies swimming past the island a couple of years ago, he asked the group for a stone to display in his museum in Jaffa, Israel.
A view of Lamb Island (top), off North Berwick in East Lothian
Speaking from his home in Tel Aviv, Mr Geller praised the swimmers for their epic adventure as boats cannot moor at The Lamb and the tides and currents make it dangerous for those in the water.
The 76-year-old told Sky News that his island was “worse than Alcatraz”, the famed former maximum security federal prison in San Francisco.
He said: “What the swimmers did was super amazing. All of them were absolutely and totally courageous because those are treacherous waters.
“They are very dangerous, and also, you never know when an underwater current could have swept them all away into the deep sea.”
Meg Maitland with the rock. Pic: The Salty Selkies/Jo Hood
The Salty Selkies took less than an hour to complete the challenge. Pic: The Salty Selkies
When the island went up for sale more than 14 years ago, Mr Geller said he felt a “very strong instinctive urge to buy it” as he believes it is one of the most significant sites in Britain.
He said the volcanic outcrop is one of three in the Firth of Forth which mirror the layout of the pyramids at Giza in Egypt.
Mr Geller said: “I’ve always been fascinated by the connection between the pyramids and these islands.”
Since purchasing The Lamb, Mr Geller has turned it into a micronation and has a flag, constitution and anthem.
Mr Geller said he will now get the rock tested before displaying it within his museum alongside a picture of the swimmers.
Read more from Uri Geller:
John Lennon, aliens and recruiting citizens for his micronation
The rock will eventually be displayed at Uri Geller’s museum. Pic: The Salty Selkies/Jo Hood
‘We could have been swept along the coast’
The Salty Selkies turned the challenge into a charity fundraiser and have raised almost £4,000 for Beach Wheelchairs, which offers specialist equipment so people with mobility issues can get out on the sand.
Mr Geller donated £1,000 to the fundraiser.
Group member Jo Lindsay said: “We wanted to help Beach Wheelchairs as they do so much to help ease access to the beach for those who don’t find it so easy.
“I believe they have enough now to pay for the deposit for a new powered beach wheelchair, which is fantastic news.”
Ms Lindsay said the members of the group, who have been swimming together for around five years, were “thrilled” it all went well.
She said: “We had to plan it very carefully and make sure we timed the tides just right as we could have been swept along the coast if we’d got it wrong.”
The group brought the swim forward by a day as the conditions were “so much better” and took less than an hour to complete the challenge.
The Salty Selkies had to carefully plan their swim. Pic: The Salty Selkies
Ms Lindsay added: “We’ve swum past The Lamb many times but never very close, and to actually swim up to it and stand on the beach was wonderful.
“We felt a huge sense of achievement but it also just felt very calm and serene.
“As we left for the swim ashore, I was energised and invigorated and it was a really good strong swim – perhaps that’s due to The Lamb’s mystic powers.
“It’s not every day you’re challenged by Uri Geller and collecting the rock for him was an exhilarating adventure that we all really enjoyed.”
