Deakin’s quest to swim the British isles has no objective or criteria beyond a sheer love of swimming and a desire to explore. The aimless and wandering journey Deakin undertakes traverses the country in search of experience, though not a ‘superlative’ or ‘best’ wild swim, but rather for the continued delight of the swim and the spirit of exploration. Without a doubt the most marvellous parts of this book are the descriptions of the swims themselves. Deakin is at one with the water and his writing conveys the sheer delight of the swim with a kind of quiet fervour. Interspersed between, though, are commentaries upon our national attitude towards wild places which are both quietly angry and punctuated with a profound grief for all that we have lost and are losing (even more so in the years since this book was written), and, as a counterbalance, a loving homage to the culture of swimming and the individuals who take as much joy in the water as Deakin. A truly wonderful book.

Waterlog is the quintessential book about outdoor swimming. Written at a time when swimming outside (especially inland) was still considered eccentric, if not outright subversive, Waterlog kick-started a revival in outdoor swimming which continues today.
Deakin's prose is inspiring and romantic - often overly so - but, by his own admission, Waterlog was never intended to be a guide, let alone a definitive one.  It is, rather, a celebration of swimming, of being outdoors and of enjoying these things for their own sake. Sadly, enjoying our outdoor spaces still feels like an act of rebellion, much like it was for Deakin nearly thirty years ago.
If you're not already inspired to make the most of the wild spaces we have left, and reading Waterlog doesn't at least get you interested then I really don't know what to say to you.