 |
|||||||||||||
|
Wild Swimming - the new photo guidebook  Imagine
a summertime tour through the wildest and most beautiful regions of
Britain - boating, camping and swimming along the way. Wild Swimming
- inspired by Roger Deakin's
cult-classic Waterlog
- is a celebration of wilderness dipping, natural bathing and
riverside picnics. Best-selling book Wild Swimming
combines
inspirational
photos, engaging writing and practical information to make this a truly
unique British travel guide.
In this great British tour you’ll be able to swim with otters in Devon, go river-tubing in Yorkshire, night-swim under the stars in Oxfordshire and learn how to build a woodland sauna. In each chapter you’ll discover famous wild-swimmers of the past and read stories of heroes, lovers and ordinary folk who have long enjoyed bathing under the willows. The book is split into six regions. Click below to see photos and highlights from each area. South-West South-East Wales Central-East Lakes & Dales Scotland & North You can see regional coverage maps of all the swims in all the regions by clicking here. Our favourite wild swims We guide you to the best places depending on your mood and company...
Introduction - History and Guidance The book begins with a whistle-stop tour of wild-swimming past and present - with insights into history, science, society, nature and psychology. There's also detailed information on how to start enjoying one of Britain most traditional's pursuits - a pleasure that in danger of being lost in our modern world. We'll teach you about finding that perfect swimming hole, what to take and how to have fun while staying safe. The Guide Book... The main part of the book - almost 200 pages - is great tour of Britain. Each of the six regional section begins with a summary map and the top highlights before diving into 50 chapters that describe the social and natural history of our wild swimming landscape - through stories of adventure, art, literature and romance. Through the book you'll find 150 purple wild swim boxes. They provide detailed information on specific swims and cover water quality and safety, ideas for days out, detailed directions and links to OS maps. Over 80 additional nearby swim locations are provided, as part of the swim boxes, with shorter directions but always a grid reference. That makes 230 wild swims, all grid referenced. Enough to keep you going all summer! Sample Chapters In the interactive sample above you'll have seen extracts of much of the above plus two sample chapters (repeated here and here for easier reading). In these examples you swim with poet Shelley who loved wild swimming on the Upper Welsh Wye and Elan, and visit Swims 73 - 75 down the Wye to "The Warren" at Hay-on-Wye. You can also read about the spectacular "Waterfall Woods" above the Neath Valley and dip in some of the turquoise forest plunge pools at Swims 76 - 78. As you'll see there's a great mix of history and nature travelogue mixed with coffee-table photos. Actvity ideas - for the side of the river, lake or waterfall The book ends with ideas for waterside games and activities. These will make sure everyone’s having fun, including younger children and families, while there’s also information for those who like a wilder experience: leave the car at home and go canoe, mountain or cycle swimming! Further sections will help you identify riverside wildlife, find wild foods, make a homemade raft and understand how to stay safe.
Wild Swimming has 256pp, 6 detailed maps, over 300 colour photos and is a convenient, light but sturdy 'glove-box' format (21cm x 17cm) - softback with double cover flaps. It is published by Punk at Cool Camping and distributed by Portfolio Books. Buy direct from the publishers by clicking here  Daniel Start spent
his childhood river-swimming,
dam-making and raftbuilding in Herefordshire. He trained as a
natural scientist at Cambridge and
at the age of 22 was taken hostage in the rainforests of New Guinea.
His
first book, The Open Cage, described his time swimming and trekking
with
riverine tribes and freedom fighters there and won the 1997
Writer’s
Guild
Award for Non-fiction. He has spent the last five years documenting,
photographing
and exploring the wilds and wild waters of Britain. |
 By Daniel Start published April 2008 BUY the companion volume too
 
 |
||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||
