by Roger Deakin.
A celebration of all things natatorial.
Waterlog gives an account of the late Roger Deakin's swimming expeditions during the course of a year. They are mostly wild-swimming expeditions in rivers, but he also visits the occasional lido.
Not being a swimmer myself, I found Waterlog less interesting than Deakin's two other wonderful books, Wildwood: a journey through trees and Notes From Walnut Tree Farm, but his enthusiasm for his chosen subject is infectious in places—even when he is swimming in little more than drainage ditches. As with Deakins other books, Waterlog is undoubtedly a very good read.
One minor complaint: although the sub-title of this book is A Swimmer's Journey Through Britain, it is constrained mainly to southern England, with the occasional jaunt up to Yorkshire for good measure. Scotland doesn't get a look in, and neither does the English Lake District, which I would have imagined was perfect territory for outdoor swimming. I was delighted, however, to see my original hometown of Bromborough on the Wirral, and my current hometown of Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire both get a passing mention.
