Waterlog

Brought to you by Penguin.

Roger Deakin set out in 1996 to swim through the British Isles. The result is a uniquely personal view of an island race and a people with a deep affinity for water. From the sea, from rock pools, from rivers and streams, tarns, lakes, lochs, ponds, lidos, swimming pools and spas, from fens, dykes, moats, aqueducts, waterfalls, flooded quarries, even canals, Deakin gains a fascinating perspective on modern Britain. Detained by water bailiffs in Winchester, intercepted in the Fowey estuary by coastguards, mistaken for a suicide on Camber sands, confronting the Corryvreckan whirlpool in the Hebrides, he discovers just how much of an outsider the native swimmer is to his landlocked, fully dressed fellow citizens.

Encompassing cultural history, autobiography, travel writing and natural history, Waterlog is a personal journey, a bold assertion of the native swimmer's right to roam and an unforgettable celebration of the magic of water.

©1999 Roger Deakin

Beautiful, inspiring and immersive

Listened Waterlog after it was mentioned in Robert Macfarlane’s Landmarks book. Both are beautiful, inspiring and immersive books. Highly recommend.