New from the publishers of Wild Swimming, the Wild Guide booktakes you on a voyage of discovery to the lesser-known corners of Britain’s favourite holiday region. Featuring over 500 ideas to help you plan the perfect escape, this is the ultimate local guide to river swimming, secret coves, ancient forests, sunset hill forts, lost ruins, canoe camping and other adventures: Buy the Book from our online shop Using “Wild Swimming” to build confidence in open water swimming, ensuring good practice and introducing the health benefits of regular cold water immersion. What we offer at Wild Swim Scotland A novel: George Owens swims the river Dee from source to sea. Currently only in Welsh but English translation may come soon. A well presented and informative read. From the author of “The Walker’s Guide to Outdoor Clues and Signs” this book is an essential piece of kit for the Open Water Swimmer. Tristan Gooley outlines his knowledge, observations and interpretations of water movement. He gives us direction and clues to develop the observational skills required to identify key signs in a variety of bodies of water. Examples from puddles, streams and lochs to rivers, estuaries and seas. He draws on historical navigational pioneers and his own observations and experiences merging these neatly into well structured and easy to read chapters, which can be read in isolation or enjoyed within the fullness of the book as a whole. This is an account of the history and culture of swimming in Britain. I haven’t read it myself, but there is a review here. The Story of Swimming

WSS Members can request to borrow from Maree Wish You Were Still Here – The Scottish Seaside HolidayAfter learning to run and writing a successful book about it, Heminsley sets her sights on sea swimming. This books stands as a cheery account of the trials and tribulations of going from landlubber to proficient swimmer. There’s a twist though, Alexandra commences IVF treatment, which fails and fails again. A winter of sea swimming helps ease the pain and trauma. This is a memoir of alcoholism and recovery, Amy Liptrot left rehab in England and returned to recover in Orkney, where she was brought up. She joined a swimming group and found in the chilled waters of the North Sea as well as around the hills and islands of the Orkneys what she needed to truly recover. WSS Members can request to borrow from Maree The Mindful Art of Wild Swimming (Reflections for Zen Seekers)

Roger Deakin explores the British Isles and the variety of swimming environments available to those of an inquisitive nature. It is a personal journey, where he reflects on the historical and modern perspective of swimming within these diverse climes. It is again possible to read Chapters within this book in isolation, indeed the photograph is of me reading an excerpt aloud to my group of swimmers after a Summer Expedition to The Trossachs. Reading “Waterlog” Summer 2020A beautifully illustrated book which explores the traditions of cold-water swimming and dipping in Scandinavia and beyond. Dr Susanna provides detail of why Winter Swimming provides such a boost to both body and soul, through this shared experience in the outdoors and in nature. This wonderful outdoor activity can influence our happiness, our energy and our inner tranquility, and give us that winter glow. Steve Munatones is a bit of a legend in open water swimming: he founded the Open Water Source and came up with the concept of the Oceans Seven– the swimming version of the Seven Summits. I suspect his book is well worth a look. Wonderful, eccentric book about ‘ swim hiking’ – walking over hills and swimming across lakes. He talks about the swimming version of the Bob Graham Round. This is not an instruction manual – it is much more useful and entertaining than that. This is a huge collection of small tipsto make a real difference to your outdoor swimming, whether you’re planning your first Winter Swims, hoping to enjoy some icy swims the depths of the Scottish winter – this book will take you through everything you need to know. Firmly placed in the genre of swimming against adversity, this book tells how swimming off the coast of Ireland helped Ruth Fitzmaurice deal with the illness of her husband, who had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease. Together with fellow “Tragic Wives,” she swims all year, using the waves and the cold to combat her trauma.

Another book about the social and cultural aspects of swimming, exploring our relationship with the water. Not one I’ve yet had chance to read but it could be worth a look. Swimming Studies The Salt Pathis an honest and life-affirming true storyof coming to terms with grief and the healing power of the natural world.Ultimately, it is a portrayal of home, and how it can be lost, rebuilt and rediscovered in the most unexpected ways.” (Publisher’s Synopsis) From the dramatic turquoise bays of Orkney to the peaty lochs of the Cairngorms, the thundering waterfalls of Skye to the calm depths of a reservoir in the Pentlands. Locals who know the secrets of their patch share over 100 spectacular dookin’ spots across Scotland. Now they are yours to explore too. (Publisher’s Synopsis)

Reader Recommendations

When you swim in Wales, take a moment to ponder the late Roger Deakin, ecologist, nature writer, campaigner and inveterate wild swimmer who compiled a whole new watery vocabulary to describe the simple, timeless activity of immersing yourself in a natural body of water, be it a river, a lake, a stream or the sea. He not only uncovered obscure, rarely used words associated with wild water – dook, loom, winterburna, bumbel – but also described the feeling of water itself, from a languid, meandering river to a furiously frothing mountain stream. Deakin was attuned to the differences in colour, taste, temperature and even texture of the water he swam in and the variety of aquatic life he encountered. He even coined a new word – endolphins – for the thrillingly pleasurable, all encompassing rush of a wild swim. A circuit of the Creddyn peninsula taking in the queen of Wales’s seaside resorts and the dolomite cliffs of the Great Orme. Llandudno isn’t the wildest swimming spot in the world, but the huge sand and shingle North Shore beach rarely feels overcrowded. Wilder, and even more scenic, is the West Shore beach with its dramatic mountain views. Swimmers know the deeply calming effects of immersion in water. Here, Tessa Wardley explores and explains why wild swimming can leads to such great awareness and calm. Tessa is an environmental consultant and has written previous books on rivers and woodlands. The story of Captain Webb, the first person to swim across the Channel. A short but interesting read. Swimming to Antarctica by Lynne Cox