North Channel

A British man has become the first amputee to swim the North Channel from Northern Ireland to Scotland solo.

"It is one of the shipwrecks that the locals never really knew about because it all took place in the North Channel," he said.

A surge in global prices – hovering at $1,800 an ounce as investors seek a haven from turbulent markets – may further whet the appetite for Celtic gold on both sides of the North Channel.

“Probably the scariest moment of all my swims in the Oceans Seven was at the end of the North Channel,” he said.

The Portpatrick route would be more than 20 miles across the North Channel.