Nature Book Reader June 2020 - Flipbook - Page 18
A Nature Book Reader
SARAH BLUNT
Sarah Blunt is Senior Producer of the BBC Natural History Unit
Waterlog by Roger Deakin
I found this a hugely difficult
task to narrow my choice
to just three books, and
then almost impossible to
choose a favourite. Wind
in the Willows has to be
on my short list as its one
of the earliest books I
remember really stirring
my imagination, but I think
I would have to choose
Roger Deakin’s Waterlog
as my favourite book. I
was fortunate enough to
meet and work with Roger
before he died and we made
several programmes for
BBC Radio 4. During one of
our meetings he gave me a
preview copy of Waterlog
which has a wonderful
paper cover with a black
ink sketch of a frog leaping
into the water. The book is
a rich, evocative account
of Roger’s enthusiasm for
swimming in wild places;
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in rivers, tarns, lakes and
pools throughout Britain.
He describes the places he
visits, the people he meets,
the history of the landscape
through which he swims and
the wildlife he encounters
from his unusual perspective
just inches above the water.
The book brims over with
Roger’s enthusiasm for wild
swimming, and for wild
places, and even though
I never enjoyed swimming,
I love this immersive
book. Roger’s wonderful
descriptive writing excites
every sense: you can smell
the peat, feel goose-bumps
rise on your skin in icy
water, hear the wings of the
dragonflies as they skim
past, feel the brush of hairlike weeds and leathery
water-lily leaves as you glide
quietly through the water.
Waterlog is a wonderful,
