Swimming

by Roger Deakin

Is there anything quite so exhilarating as swimming in wild water? This is a joyful swimming tour of Britain, a frog’s-eye view of the country’s best bathing holes – the rivers, rock pools, lakes, ponds, lochs and sea that define a watery island. Charming, funny, inspiring, an assertion of the native swimmer's right to roam, a celebration of the magic of water – this book will indeed make you want to strip off and leap in.

Selected from the book Waterlog by Roger Deakin

VINTAGE MINIS: GREAT MINDS. BIG IDEAS. LITTLE BOOKS.

A series of short books by the world’s greatest writers on the experiences that make us human

Also in the Vintage Minis series:
Eating by Nigella Lawson
Liberty by Virginia Woolf
Summer by Laurie Lee
Desire by Haruki Murakami

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Memoir

114 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 8, 2017

About the author

Roger Stuart Deakin was an English writer, documentary-maker and environmentalist.

Educated at Haberdashers' Aske's and Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he read English, he first worked in advertising as a copywriter and creative director.

In 1968 he bought an Elizabethan moated farmhouse on the edge of Mellis Common, near Diss where he lived until his death from a brain tumour, first diagnosed only four months before his death.

Deakin was a founder director of the arts/environmental charity Common Ground in 1982.

In 1999 his acclaimed book Waterlog was published by Chatto and Windus in the United Kingdom. Inspired in part by a short story by John Cheever, The Swimmer, (Burt Lancaster was in the film), it describes his experiences of 'wild swimming', swimming in Britain's rivers and lakes and is both a campaigning work and poetic odyssey. Wildwood, appeared posthumously in 2007 and in November 2008, Notes from Walnut Tree Farm - a collection of writing taken from his personal notebooks was published to high critical appraisal.

Reviews

[Eloise Mcallister · Rating 3 out of 5]

nice to dip in and out of (lol).

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this little book about one of my favourite things in the world - swimming! Deakin has a way of writing that I imagine invites the non-swimmer to think about something new in a different way. The discussion about open water swimming is often left out of the conversation which is much more serious when it comes to keeping pathways open for hikers. But the natural world belongs to everyone and, as such, should be treated as though it belongs to everyone. His adventures in wild waters prove this perhaps more than anything. Not only is it a thrilling adventure, but it is also an opportunity to get people back into nature and back to loving the world we are lucky enough to have right outside of our windows.

I've been excited for this series of Vintage minis for a while and they have definitely not disappointed. Not only has it made me want to read the rest of the series, it has made me want to go out and try something new - open water swimming. I'll also for sure be reading more by the wonderful Roger Deakin and I encourage you to do the same.

[Katie Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn I was really hoping to write this book

[Meu · Rating 2 out of 5]

The descriptions of the places are nice. Not extremely good, elegant or remarkable, just nice descriptions of beautiful places. You can see the writer is passionate about swimming. I also had the feeling during the whole book that the guy was very pretentious (maybe just the writing is pretentious). Anyhow that made me like the book way less. I was also expecting some more depth about wild swimming, which I didn't find.
As a foreigner I did learn some things about Britain tho.
Tbh I would not put it top of my to-read list, but if you have a lot of spare time, why not.

[Michael Ritchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to go swimming...

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of pretentious, but still made me want to go for a swim. I read it by the pool, which was quite appropriate as well.

[Sammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

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Before penning down my thoughts on this Vintage Mini. I would like to give you a little snippet on the author's life. Roger Deakin had a moated Elizabethan farmhouse in Suffolk, where he lived for 38 years, swimming almost daily in the moat. .
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So, what I read and what you're about to read is very vivid and passionate. For the writer himself was a lover of swimming. Taken from his book Water Log, Swimming is about the protagonist's love for swimming, and his embarkation on a journey to discover his country's rivers, moats and wild water. This short book is very informative and an eye-opener to all of us. From one side, you dive into most of Britain's rivers and have a deep insight on the beauty of the underwater, its habitants and the lives of it. And from the other side, you will be awakened from the comatose, and the veil that's on your eyes for years will be removed to show you that we all have a right to swim in the wilderness, and no one has the right to own the water just because his property is next to it! .
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If you're a lover of swimming or not, read this mini adventure under the water and bask in the beauty of it. The writer poured his emotions out in to this book, and you will feel like you're already in the water, breaststroking and backstroking with this book's words. 3.5 stars

[Oryx · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just hate having the flu. It always ruins the flow of my reading -- the books started, the books queued.

I'm all dizzy I'm not sure 'queued' was even correct.
It's jus- oh. The book. Yeah. This is a review not a diary entry. Soz.

My problem with this series (Vintage Minis) is that they are all just a distillation of larger works, and so in effect they're just ruining the book I could have read instead. They're never enough. All they do is make me wish I read the actual book. This was great. Funny and really well observed and meditative. I am sure 'Waterlog' is a great but I'll never know because I've just read a third of it, the highlights, so what's the point? I should have read that instead. I wish I read that instead. I couldn't have read that instead because did I mention I have the flu? I did? Oh. Yeah. Right. Soz.

Whatever.

3.Mini

[Dane Cobain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering that this is basically a celebration of the joy of swimming and I’m not much of a swimmer, I actually enjoyed this one a lot. It’s almost philosophical in the way that it examines the subject of swimming, and it was interesting reading about some of the rivers in Buckinghamshire, where I live. It was also fascinating to read about how some navies used to prefer their men not to learn to swim because it would just prolong their suffering if the ship went down. If you’re a big swimmer or if you know one, this is the book for you. It’s surprisingly good.

[Paarth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Swimming by Roger Deakin was a great book. It describes swimming in a very unusual perspective, in which it certainly makes you want to jump in the water. The vivid descriptions of the sea and everything around immediately transfer your mind into a sense of calm. While reading the book I constantly found myself immersed in the ocean.

Overall, I would rate this book highly. It is amazing for people who love the water or even if they don't like it then reading this book will definitely change their opinion. I will definitely be swimming a lot more now after reading this book.

[Doug Dillaman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought for me by my wife because I like swimming and I like Roger Deakins. The cinematographer. Who did not write this book. Whoops!

Anyway, it took me a little to get into - Deakin has a tendency to start chapters with profusions of proper nouns meaningless to a non-Brit - but this book has some lovely tactile descriptions of his intermittently foolhardy adventures.

[gereed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Water! Swimming! Beauty! I truly loved reading this book. Slightly dated at some parts. This book was absolutely delicious though. My mind craved for something like this. I had no idea what he was saying sometimes, yet between mystical names of plants, places, and geographic phenomenons that I had never heard before, my body could fully devour the sensations described of floating in these places.

[Bernie Gourley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains a collection of excerpts from the book Waterlog by Roger Deakin. It's one volume from a series of short books that contain essays, stories, poems, or book excerpts that is put out by Penguin under the imprint "Vintage Minis." The book describes the author's experiences of wild swimming throughout Britain. The description of nature and of the exhilarating experience of wild swimming are beautifully composed, and it's an all-around pleasant read.

If you're interested in wild swimming, I'd recommend this book.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully written, super inspiring; almost felt like I was taking deep gulps of the fresh countryside air that he was writing about. That said, can't help but feel that his privilege of walking and swimming the moors alone is something some people never have.

[Katie Carina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great intro to the beautiful and iconic Waterlog

This book gives readers a small sample of chapters from the original book. Rogers love of the natural world mixed with his knowledge and humour make this a joy to read again and again

[blue ★ · Rating 4 out of 5]

very abrupt ending, but there was truly not a plot to progress so even though it caught me off-guard, it wasn’t a problem in the slightest. beautiful prose and story-telling, the love shines through.

[Oscar Cremmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

reading this book goodreads was like wondering through a steel yard

[Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little read, just wish i could get back out in to a river and have a swim

[Ashim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a good read for me. Difficult to build momentum.

[Author Tvastra · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best classics of the century. One should read to understand what swimming can actually be and what not. I love to be in the wild for swimming and that is what the book inspires.

[S C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book on the beach at the height of summer in Australia, dipping between water and book. Whilst reading, I pondered the nearby unexplored bathing spots. I then realised how limited my swimming expeditions have been. I rarely swim in rivers or lakes and certainly haven't felt inclined to go for unseasonal swims. Freshwater swimming doesn't seem to be at the forefront of our Australian minds as we're rather coastally focused here. As a nation we seem to clutch onto an everlasting fear of sharks silently brushing up against us and, in the warmer waters up north, you also have Saltwater Crocodiles to look out for, yet sea swims are the norm.

'Swimming' by Roger Deakin is a short philosophical reflection on wild swimming. This Vintage Minis publication is an extract from Deakins 'Waterlog' which calls for the right to swim in wild, open water. In 'Swimming', Deakin takes us along on his journey to numerous swimming-holes around Britain; moats, rivers, lakes, the sea, and more. Each chapter is dedicated to a different swimming-hole, he swims in the moat that surrounds his property, ignores 'No Swimming' signs, scratches and clambers into remote rock pools, and plunges into dark, wintry waters. Described in poetic detail, each entry opens with the author's trek to the swimming hole, then provides a type of condition report of the water, and ends with him drying off. In amongst these pragmatic details, he contemplates on the psychological and spiritual experience of swimming, as in the first entry 'The Moat': "In water, all possibilities seemed infinitely extended. Free of the tyranny of gravity and the weight of the atmosphere, I found myself in the wide-eyed condition described by the Australian poet Les Murray when he said: ‘I am only interested in everything.’ The enterprise began to feel like some medieval quest. When Merlin turns the future King Arthur into a fish as part of his education in The Sword in the Stone, T. H. White says, ‘He could do what men always wanted to do, that is, fly. There is practically no difference between flying in the water and flying in the air… It was like the dreams people have.’"

'Swimming' was a relaxing read and made me eager to luxuriate in the sensation of water. The small portion size is perfect for keeping in the bag and whipping out on coffee breaks or swimming breaks.

[Istiningdyah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wrap-Up review

[Ricky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this small book by Roger Deakin, it often had a poetic tone and prose around his experiences of wild swimming. After reading Waterlog and understanding Roger Deakin's writing style and view of swimming in different locations there weren't many new surprises in this mini version of Waterlog. If you haven't read Waterlog this could be a good introduction to Roger Deakin's world.

[Danny Withington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whilst only an abridged version of the original, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book!
The authors humour, whilst taking the reader on a cold and wet journey, whilst in the comfort of a (normally) dry and warm location, means I'll definitely be adding the full version, Waterlog, to the "to read" list.