Taking the Plunge: The Healing Power of Wild Swimming for Mind, Body and Soul

by Anna Deacon, Vicky Allan

The thrill of plunging—or dipping a toe—into open water brings joy, confidence, adventure, and friendship. It can wash away stress and sadness, pain and grief. Here water is a great healer, a place to feel gloriously, elementally alive and in touch with yourself, with others, and with nature. Full of life-affirming personal stories and breath-taking images of scenery and swimmers, this bookcelebrates the remarkable wild swimming community. With practical advice on how wild swimming works and how to get started—from what you'll need (a swimsuit and a smile!) to where best to go (rivers, oceans, lochs, lakes . . .)—there's never been a better time to take the plunge.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published November 7, 2019

Reviews

[Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joyful from the first page. Beautiful stories, many of which reflect my own in the water. Time to read it all over again...

[Jo Larkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely looking and feeling book with joyous photographs. It did it's job in making me want to swim out there. I was rather put off by the strong focus, in the text, on swimming for the relief of mental ill-health or grief or pain...though it is fantastic that wild swimming seems so helpful in those situations. Also I am not a "pod swimmer".

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful read and a visual feast - great for this wild swimmer, but also inspiring for anyone considering 'Taking the Plunge'

[Peter Jinks · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the photos are certainly beautiful, what fascinates me about this book is how wild swimming seems to have such a profound therapeutic effect on the people it talks about. Vicky Allan has put her journalistic skills to good use getting such revealing and heartfelt interviews down on paper. This is also an eloquent personal testimony about her own experiences of wild swimming. The sense of community that these intrepid dippers feel really does come across ;)

[Wanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very inspiring book. Lots of photos of people with and without wetsuits enjoying the cold water. Tales of how swimming in cold water has helped people with their physical and mental health. Discussions of safety issues, physical challenges and benefits of swimming in cold water.

[Pat Morris-jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely book, pictures are great as well as words. Mainly Scots based but not bad because of that. Helpful advice as well as inspirational.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve given this book 4 stars as it was a joyous read, but a few of things did irk slightly: there was no mention in the safety information (they are mentioned later in other things you might need) and very few pictures of people using tow floats, which are essential for visibility and allow you to float on them and just hang around. You can also pop bits of kit in them in case you need to get out at a different place or store your phone in it so it doesn’t get nicked on the bank.

Now I appreciate, most of this book focused on swimming in Scotland, mainly the lochs and the sea, so less likely to be people about to take things, however this a reality in a lot of places. Also, a lot of people swim in rivers or lakes and you may have to find a different exit point for a variety of reasons, this is where having a dry robe or towel robe in your tow float, in cold conditions could prevent hypothermia.

I was also surprised there was no suggestion of thinking about your feet too. A lot of places have rocks, shells or things underfoot that could damage your feet, and in cold conditions, you don’t always feel this.

I was also surprised there was very little discussion on after drop, which often takes beginners by surprise to begin with.

That said, I think most people swim with someone more experienced on their first outing (I know I did) and there are a lot of books out there that discuss these things, as well as some great You tube videos by Professor Mike Tipton. And there are a lot of other books that focus on the practicalities of open water/cold water swimming.

I’m also a lone fish, whilst I love swimming with friends or other groups of people, I also find a great deal of stress relief from just finding my own space, on my own. I’ve done a lot of wild swimming in Wales on my own for example, and had a fantastic time… just don’t forget your tow float.

All that said, this is a great book around the well-being commented to wild swimming and shows some absolutely joyous photos. I’m also not sure I’d expected the ‘Scotland’ focus of the book, however, it’s certainly made me put a Scotland wild swimming road trip on to my bucket list.

Looking forward to reading The Ripple effect which is also sitting on my ‘to read’ pile…

[Els · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wildzwemmen. Door Anna Deacon en Vicky Allan.

Anna is fotograaf en Vicky is journalist. Beide wonen ze in Schotland en nemen ze geregeld een duik in natuurwater, zo leren ze elkaar ook kennen. Anna neemt al langer mooie foto’s van wildzwemmers die ze post op haar Instagram (@wildswimmingphotography), als ze Vicky ontmoet ontstaat het idee voor dit boek.

Er zijn al meerdere boeken over wildzwemmen, ik heb er zelfs al een paar. Maar dit boek is anders; omdat het een praktijkboek is. Met echte foto’s van echte mensen die echt in natuurwater (veelal de zee) aan het zwemmen zijn. Het zijn geen straffe verhalen van ‘professionals’ of gekunstelde foto’s van perfecte locaties. Het zijn foto’s met mensen in alle vormen en maten. Sommigen laveren tussen ijs, anderen poedelen in de branding. Maar één ding hebben ze allemaal gemeen: een gigantisch grote glimlach op hun gezicht.

En dat herken ik. Ik zwom nog niet veel ‘wild’ maar de keren dat ik het deed voelde ik me geweldig! Al was het ook koud en een beetje vies en zelfs wat eng. Maar de vreugde, zeker achteraf, primeerde. Dus wil ik meer.

Dit boek helpt daarbij: naast mooie foto’s bevat het verhalen en tips en tricks van mensen die heel vaak buiten zwemmen. Zoals: doe iets mee om op te staan als je je omkleedt, zet een felgekleurde badmuts op, ga nooit alleen zwemmen. Het boek toont ook aan hoe goed het is om buiten te zwemmen: voor je lichaam en je geest. Anna en Vicky maakten een prachtige ode aan één van de eenvoudigste maar ook prachtigste dingen die er bestaan: wildzwemmen!

Ik popel van de goesting, jij ook?

[Claire Windsor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for anyone interested in wild swimming. Wonderful stories of the therapeutic impact of wild swimming accompanied by beautiful photos. Thoroughly enjoyable.

[Fiona Whelan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book