A seminal blend of nature writing, travelogue and cultural history, Deakin’s account of his swimming odyssey through the British Isles stands as one of the great reflections on the British people’s relationship to their environment.
Roger Deakin set out in 1996 to swim through the British Isles. The result 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 suicide 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.
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
ISBN: 9780099282556
Number of pages: 352
Weight: 303 g
Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 25 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'A delicious, cleansing, funny, wise and joyful book, so wonderfully full of energy and life. I loved it' - Jane Gardam
'Highly entertaining...Waterlog is a book about a cold, wet subject written with a warmth and passion it surely deserves, but has rarely had before' - The Guardian
'A wonderful and romantic tale told by a true English eccentric...think Ratty, think Mole, think three men falling out of a boat...enchanting' - Michele Roberts, The Financial Times
'A travel book like no other, it is rich and deep with insights on modern Britain' - The Independent
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“Waterlog”
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“this a great book”
although i have just started Waterlog I have enjoyed this book the little i have read and look forward to reading the rest
“Waterlog”
Waterlog will captivate you. Deakin writes beautifully and enticingly - you won't be able to resist the urge to read it alone, under a tree, preferably with the sound of water rushing in the back ground. We may... More
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