Roger Deakin was inspired by The Swimmer by John Cheever to explore the British isles by swimming in its lochs, lakes, rivers, streams, lidos and of course the sea. This is a sublime book. His joi de vivre leaps of the page and infuses you with absolute joy. Add to this a growing desire to follow in his footsteps and nostalgia for lost youth this makes it a highly enjoyable reading experience. I can see why this book gave birth to a renaissance in wild swimming. At first I wished for luscious pictures but soon I was glad to be wrapt solely in words. He can be witty, self depreciating and deeply eccentric but most of all his passion shines through. Held in check by a good editor, mixed with facts, thoughts and experiences this is a hell of a book.

I highly recommend it for anyone interested in swimming, travelogues and recapturing a world you thought no longer existed in the UK. ( )

I love this book. I am fascinated to find a person who delighted in swimmng in nature's grand swimming holes, rivers and seas.

Enjoyable tale of swimming in fresh water, pools and the sea in the UK. Deakin's Friends of the Earth and Common Ground ideals come through strongly. he writes well and engages even non-swimmers in the book by covering interesting local history and natural history. he is a man who knows more people than I do with lakes, pools and rivers in their gardens. ( )

Brilliant book - if you love swimming, you won't be able to resist it. ( )

An unusual book written by an unusual man who knew the importance of the small things in life. Died in September 2006 with a posthumous book, "Wildwood" , being published in Spring 2007. ( )