Paul and Jeanette gave me this book to mark an auspicious occasion some time ago. With over 300 pages of tightly condensed script, it's a bit daunting, but what you get is a masterpiece of description and local history, as Roger spends a summer, over twenty years ago, exploring as many 'wild swimming' spots in the UK as he can find.
This is his 'log', and all the places he visits, from the beaches of the Isles of Scilly to 'Orwell's Whirlpool', come with fascinating bits of history, and observations as to the local natural history, and much more.
There are some books you just read, and enjoy (or not), and there are others that you read and that make you glad that you never attempted to earn a living as a writer. This one is in the latter category as Roger's talented writing is a delight to read, in the knowledge that it's in a different class to anything one could manage oneself (speaking personally, obviously).
It's not a quick read, but it's a very satisfying one. It's available here, or you could borrow my copy.
Here's Waterstones' synopsis:
Roger Deakin set out in 1996 to swim through the British Isles. The result is a uniquely personal view of an island race and a people with a deep affinity for water. From the sea, from rock pools, from rivers and streams, tarns, lakes, lochs, ponds, lidos, swimming pools and spas, from fens, dykes, moats, aqueducts, waterfalls, flooded quarries, even canals, Deakin gains a fascinating perspective on modern Britain. Detained by water bailiffs in Winchester, intercepted in the Fowey estuary by coastguards, mistaken for a suicude on Camber sands, confronting the Corryvreckan whirlpool in the Hebrides, he discovers just how much of an outsider the native swimmer is to his landlocked, fully-dressed fellow citizens. Encompassing cultural history, autobiography, travel writing and natural history, Waterlog is a personal journey, a bold assertion of the native swimmer's right to roam, and an unforgettable celebration of the magic of water.
No comments:
Post a Comment