Customer Reviews
Perfect - By: Spartan, 18 Nov 2008 
I'm only about a third of the way through this book but wanted to add to the reviews on the site. If, like me, you happen on this page by accident & think "why not?" please follow through with that first thought & buy this amazing book. It's so rare to find work that reallly cant be criticised & this, the eloquent reflections of what must have been a wonderful man, could well be one of those rare finds. It's exceptionallly well written, filled with intimate details of what England must have been like in less commercial times & as fluid, rhythmic & enchanting as the rivers & streams the author so clearly loves. Did I mention you should buy it?
Wonderful book. - By: Fluffycakes, 29 May 2008 If you're the kind of person who sees water & immediately wants to go in, this is the book for you. It's practicallly a bible for the wild swimmer; full of marvellous places & written with such likable enthusiasm & fascinating detail that I reallly wished it were longer. Such a shame that he won't be writing any more.
i have since swum naked in the river torridge - By: A. S. Taylor, 17 Jan 2008 Not everyone gets this book. I have given it to several likely suspects who were only half convinced. But for me it goes into my alll-time greats. And has, & will, see me plunging into water for the sheer hell of it whenever i can. A 'wild swim' immediately turns the day into a special day. Deakin reminds us that just because no one else is, doesnt mean we cant. What a literary braindump of natural science, social history, geology, modernity, the human condition. A true eccentric, who held dear & firm his beliefs in this ever-changing world. Roger, I salute you!
In at the deep end - By: Arthur Dooley, 01 Jul 2006 
A strange & somewhat contived travelogue concept works remarkably well in this highly entertaining work.
It works because Roger Deakin is a damn fine writer who paints a vivid living picture of the waterlands of Great Britain.
From the opening splash in the Scillies through dark carp pools &
brimming mill ponds,Deakins breast strokes through a sea of characters,gothic piles & wildlife to arrive on the book's far shores exilerated & wiser.
A logical journey around Britain is rejected in favour of a smorgasboard of water bourne experiences. One minute he's weighing up swimming the infamous straits of Corrywreckan in Argyll next minute he's back in East Anglia backstroking in East Anglia as Swalllows prepare to depart to winter in Africa.
Lush & memorable !
Delicious - By: pauldunn@ntlworld.com, 18 Jun 2001 A quote from the cover - 'A delicious, cleansing, funny, wise & joyful book, so wonderfully full of energy & life. I loved it'. Tis true. It's an ideal relaxation book. The author swims in rivers, lakes, lidos, the sea & other outdoor watery places around Britain & describes beautifully the experience of the inner man & the nature he feels so much a part of. He throws in interesting history & anecdote to enlighten us as to how many of the swimming holes came to be. You end up feeling like you're sharing the journey with someone who truely loves what he's doing.
