A tourist has been injured after falling 20 feet into a loch while taking photographs of an iconic Scottish castle.
The man, said to be in his 40s, fell from rocks while taking a picture of Eilean Donan Castle, one of the most photographed sites in Scotland.
His partner ran to the castle, at Dornie in the Highlands, to raise the alarm and emergency services, including Lifeboat and Coastguard crews, were called to the scene at 10.04am on Sunday.
By the time they arrived, the man had managed to scramble out of the water and was stuck at the base of the rocks, unable to climb up due to injuries.
A paramedic from the Scottish Ambulance Service managed to climb down to the visitor to assess his condition and a lifeboat from Kyle RNLI transferred him to the slipway at Dornie village hall where he was then placed in an ambulance and taken to hospital.
A Kyle RNLI spokesman said: “Whilst visiting the area on holiday, the couple had stopped in a layby to take pictures of the Castle when the casualty fell off the rocks and landed in the water below.
“His partner then ran about a quarter of a mile to the Castle to raise the alarm.
“The currents are extremely strong in that area, however he managed to get to the shore and hold on until help could arrive.”
A RNLI statement added: “After being transferred onto the lifeboat, the crew immediately began trying to warm up the casualty who was extremely cold and wet.
“Whilst the lifeboat was heading towards the slipway, the UK Coastguard helicopter arrived on scene and landed in a nearby field until it could be ascertained if the casualty would need to go to hospital via road or whether he would need to be airlifted.
“After reaching the slipway, the casualty was handed back over to paramedics from both the Scottish Ambulance service & the UK Coastguard helicopter, where it was decided he would go to hospital in the ambulance.”
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