Waterlog: A Swimmer's Journey Through Britain

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
The British Isles are blessed with a whole variety of waterways often encompassed within beautiful valleys, rolling hills, green fields and rugged coast lines. The presence of a flowing stream, waterfall or an idyllic pond can enhance a picturesque landscape.

While swimming in the moat located in his own back garden, inspired by thoughts of his son's current quest travelling in Australia and John Cheever's classic short story, The Swimmer, Roger Deakin decided he would undertake his own adventure and swim across Britain.

The Rambling Association's Right to Roam campaign is well publicised in the UK, so should that not include our right to swim in our lakes, dykes, and tarns? Deakin was ready to prove it did and planned a trip around Britain which would take him to numerous wild swimming venues.

Waterlog, is Deakin's account of his journey. He seeks out tarns high in the hills of north Wales, swims with salmon in Somerset and eels in the Fens. He describes the nature he sees around him from his unusual perspective inches above water level. His love of swimming away from the confines of a swimming pool comes through strongly in his writing. Wild swimming is an unusual hobby in modern society as we are constantly told how our rivers and lakes have become polluted by large industries disposing of waste via waterways and chemical fertilisers washing off farmers fields into out rivers. During his visit to a weir on the River Avon in Worcestershire, Deakin's hosts and fellow swimmers show him a letter they have received from the local environment agency outlining the dangers of swimming in the river. The letter describes how sewage can constitute up to 80 percent of the river flow and increase the risk of catching Weil's disease. Deakin takes in the scientific argument, arguing that the figures show that very few people catch Weil's Disease in the UK and of those who do, they are invariably not river swimmers.

Deakin has produced a deeply personal account of his journey. He informs us of any cultural, historical or geographic points of interest in a highly descriptive writing style which does not, however, read as an adventure story. Unfortunately, this means there is no climax to the book as a whole, but it does mean each chapter stands alone as a description of each area. Together, they make an interesting read and leave the reader with a wealth of information from an unusual perspective. --Stephen Payne

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Review
This book deserves to become a classic. Waterlog is a vivid and sensual record of one man's immersion in the looking-glass world of Britain's waters, rivers, seas, lidos and locks; Deakin tastes them all in a private quest born from a daily swim in his Suffolk moat. Reflections on otters, the history of spas, the degradation of our chalk stream or birth of the crawl stroke - this is a brilliant and peculiar compelling catch-all, beaded with the moisture of the author's physical and psychological journey. A solitary as well as a natural subversive, vaulting private fishing fences and arguing with water bailifs in his bid to swim wild in a country devoted to denying such basic rights, Deakin's human encounters nevertheless remain as memorable as his watery ones. In liquid but never gushing prose, he plunges us time and again into icy, galvanizing currents, emerging on the knife-edge between aching and glowing. The book is also a discreetly impassioned plea for a change in our literally poisonous attitude towards Britain's waters, replete with health warning signs, chemical run-offs and sewage. Yet the ecology is never preaching; Deakin is all for the anachic flow and joie de vivre of a tumbling burn, as witnessed in the memorable scene of leather-clad Hell's Angels leaping off a vertiginous bridge into the lovely River Lune. If you don't yet know that the nearest thing to heaven is skinny-dipping in a cold, clean river, then read this book. It's about as invigorating too. Review by ADAM THORPE (Kirkus UK)

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Product Description
Inspired by John Cheever's short story "The Swimmer", Roger Deakin set out in 1996 to swim through the British Isles. From the sea, from rock pools, from rivers and streams, tarns, lakes, lochs, ponds, lidos, swimming pools, and spas, Deakin presents an alternative perspective on Britain.

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Synopsis
Inspired by John Cheever's short story "The Swimmer", Roger Deakin set out in 1996 to swim through the British Isles. From the sea, from rock pools, from rivers and streams, tarns, lakes, lochs, ponds, lidos, swimming pools, and spas, Deakin presents an alternative perspective on Britain.

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From the Publisher
An aquatic Songlines
An aquatic Songlines

'I jumped in with both feet and wanted to stay for more' Griff Rhys Jones

'A simply wonderful book...the perfect union of writer and subject...a delightfully eccentric masterpiece; no poolside or riverbank should be without it' Mail on Sunday

'A wonderful and romantic tale told by a true English eccentric...think Ratty, think Mole, think three men falling out of a boat...enchanting' Financial Times 'Erudite, funky and passionate, a total delight' Independent on Sunday

'Highly entertaining...Waterlog is a book about a cold, wet subject written with a warmth and passion it surely deserves, but has rarely had before' Guardian

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-05-29 rating:
Wonderful book.
If you're the kind of person who sees water and immediately wants to go in, this is the book for you. It's practically a bible for the wild swimmer; full of marvellous places and written with such likable enthusiasm and fascinating detail that I really wished it were longer. Such a shame that he won't be writing any more.

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review by: avon maroc date: 2008-01-17 rating:
i have since swum naked in the river torridge
Not everyone gets this book. I have given it to several likely suspects who were only half convinced. But for me it goes into my all-time greats. And has, and will, see me plunging into water for the sheer hell of it whenever i can. A 'wild swim' immediately turns the day into a special day. Deakin reminds us that just because no one else is, doesnt mean we cant. What a literary braindump of natural science, social history, geology, modernity, the human condition. A true eccentric, who held dear and firm his beliefs in this ever-changing world. Roger, I salute you!

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review by: date: 2006-07-01 rating:
In at the deep end
A strange and somewhat contived travelogue concept works remarkably well in this highly entertaining work.
It works because Roger Deakin is a damn fine writer who paints a vivid living picture of the waterlands of Great Britain.
From the opening splash in the Scillies through dark carp pools and
brimming mill ponds,Deakins breast strokes through a sea of characters,gothic piles and wildlife to arrive on the book's far shores exilerated and wiser.
A logical journey around Britain is rejected in favour of a smorgasboard of water bourne experiences. One minute he's weighing up swimming the infamous straits of Corrywreckan in Argyll next minute he's back in East Anglia backstroking in East Anglia as Swallows prepare to depart to winter in Africa.

Lush and memorable !

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review by: date: 2001-06-18 rating:
Delicious
A quote from the cover - 'A delicious, cleansing, funny, wise and joyful book, so wonderfully full of energy and life. I loved it'. Tis true. It's an ideal relaxation book. The author swims in rivers, lakes, lidos, the sea and other outdoor watery places around Britain and describes beautifully the experience of the inner man and the nature he feels so much a part of. He throws in interesting history and anecdote to enlighten us as to how many of the swimming holes came to be. You end up feeling like you're sharing the journey with someone who truely loves what he's doing.


review by: mustard57 date: 2000-10-03 rating:
Wonderfully ecelectic
One of the most enjoyable books I've read in a long time. Deakin's extensive and eclectic knowledge fills the book with all manner of interesting anecdote. His enthusiasm for swimming is contagious, and as a recent late learner make me look forward to the watery joys ahead.

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