0:00:16 > 0:00:22'The sun had been shining on the water all day and I set off and swam comfortably into
0:00:22 > 0:00:27'the amazing clear water, marvelling at the brightness of everything.
0:00:30 > 0:00:36'The swimmer is content to be borne on his way full of mysteries,
0:00:36 > 0:00:38'doubts and uncertainties.
0:00:38 > 0:00:44'He is a leaf on the stream, free at last from his petty little purposes in life.'
0:00:51 > 0:00:56For some people this would be the ideal swimming location -
0:00:56 > 0:01:02clean and modern, with convenient changing rooms, big fluffy robes
0:01:02 > 0:01:05and, best of all, hot water.
0:01:05 > 0:01:12But a growing number of people across Britain are looking for a completely different kind of experience.
0:01:26 > 0:01:33To a 'wild swimmer' secluded rivers, lakes and rock pools are where it's at.
0:01:33 > 0:01:40And over the last few years there's been a steady flow of books, magazine articles and TV features
0:01:40 > 0:01:45feeding a growing obsession with swimming in the great outdoors.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51And if one book can claim to have rekindled our passion
0:01:51 > 0:01:55in wild swimming, then surely this must be it.
0:01:55 > 0:01:56Roger Deakin's Waterlog.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02Roger Deakin was an environmentalist, broadcaster and writer
0:02:02 > 0:02:07and worked for a variety of papers and wildlife magazines.
0:02:07 > 0:02:12In Waterlog, his first book, he recorded a series of journeys
0:02:12 > 0:02:20that he made in an attempt to swim in as many British rivers, lakes and pools as he could.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24The result was an extraordinary, poetic discourse
0:02:24 > 0:02:28on the joys of nature and the delights of swimming in the wild.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34'I wanted to follow the rain on it's meanderings about our land
0:02:34 > 0:02:40'to rejoin the sea, to break out of the frustration of a lifetime of doing lengths,
0:02:40 > 0:02:45'of endlessly turning back on myself like a tiger pacing its cage...
0:02:47 > 0:02:51'I grew convinced that following water, flowing with it, would be
0:02:51 > 0:02:56'a way of getting under the skin of things, of learning something new.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59'I might even learn about myself, too.'
0:03:01 > 0:03:04Waterlog is one of my favourite books.
0:03:04 > 0:03:11It's this beautiful, lyrical evocation of the importance of water to an island nation.
0:03:11 > 0:03:16And it's also a bit of an inspiration and a challenge to me.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20An inspiration because it makes me want to swim in wild places,
0:03:20 > 0:03:24and a challenge because I want to understand that desire
0:03:24 > 0:03:30and to find out more about the relationship between humans and water.
0:03:32 > 0:03:38To do that, I'm going to swim in some of the wildest locations the country has to offer.
0:03:41 > 0:03:48I'm going to examine the enduring fascination water has held for artists and writers.
0:03:48 > 0:03:55And I'm going to look at how water has made its mark on myth and legend.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01But, before I do all that, I'm going to have a cup of tea.
0:04:23 > 0:04:29I don't actually remember learning to swim, which presumably meant I was very young when it happened.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33But I do have some lovely memories of swimming from my childhood
0:04:33 > 0:04:37and, in particular, this pool that we used to go to.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42It was a friend of the family and we used to go down the garden into this dip.
0:04:42 > 0:04:47And hidden away in the dip was this swimming pool with little huts to get changed in.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50And it was like going back into the '30s, I think.
0:04:50 > 0:04:56I remember really vividly that fantastic feeling of swimming outdoors.
0:04:58 > 0:05:03The days of just turning up at the neighbour's with a costume and a towel are long gone.
0:05:03 > 0:05:09For this trip, I'm packing all manner of wetsuits, costumes and spare changes of clothes.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13And I'm also bringing some copies of radio recordings
0:05:13 > 0:05:18that Roger Deakin made for the BBC after Waterlog was published.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22Sadly, Roger died in 2006.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24But, through his writings and recordings,
0:05:24 > 0:05:28I hope to get a clearer insight into the man who's inspired me.
0:05:31 > 0:05:36'The warm rain tumbled from the gutter in one of those midsummer
0:05:36 > 0:05:44'downpours as I hastened across the lawn behind my house in Suffolk and took shelter in the moat.
0:05:44 > 0:05:50'Breast-stroking up and down the 30 yards of clear, green water,
0:05:50 > 0:05:53'I nosed along, eyes just at water level.
0:05:53 > 0:05:58'It was at the height of this drenching in the summer of 1996 that
0:05:58 > 0:06:02'the notion of a long swim through Britain began to form itself.'
0:06:06 > 0:06:10There are more than 1,000 lakes and 8,000 rivers in the UK.
0:06:10 > 0:06:16So, in terms of potential swimming locations, I'm more than spoilt for choice.
0:06:23 > 0:06:28So, I've decided to start at one of the oldest river swimming clubs in the country,
0:06:28 > 0:06:32the Farleigh and District Club on the River Frome in Wiltshire.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40There is Rob.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43He's got his towel with him.
0:06:43 > 0:06:50'Giving me a guided tour will be Rob Fryer, club chairman and a vocal champion of river swimming.'
0:06:50 > 0:06:53- Rob.- Good to see you.- Hello.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55- Come in. - So this is the swimming club?
0:06:55 > 0:06:57Yes, this is the Farleigh and District Swimming Club.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59It's just a field.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02Well, yes. It is just a field.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04But that's the charm of it.
0:07:04 > 0:07:05You've got to...
0:07:05 > 0:07:12appreciate the simplicity of the pleasures of swimming in rivers.
0:07:13 > 0:07:18Those simple pleasures are down to a pool, created by this weir,
0:07:18 > 0:07:23which has given club members and visitors nearly a century's worth of enjoyment.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37I don't know what I was expecting, Rob. But perhaps...some kind of pavilion?
0:07:37 > 0:07:39Well, the swimming club pavilion, we call that the pavilion.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43That corrugated iron shed?
0:07:43 > 0:07:45- No, no, no. That's a swimming club pavilion.- Right, OK.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47I would correct you on that.
0:07:49 > 0:07:54The club was started in the early '30s when a local landowner invited
0:07:54 > 0:07:57a group of swimmers to formalise their activities.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00What was this place like in the 1930s?
0:08:00 > 0:08:07It was very much an important social hub of the whole community. And everybody knew each other.
0:08:07 > 0:08:13There were all these events, like diving competitions for silver tea-spoons.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16And then there'd be water polo.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20The '30s were the heyday of river swimming.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23But after the war these clubs went into decline,
0:08:23 > 0:08:28as new municipal swimming pools sprang up across the country.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31By the early 1990s, Farleigh was one of the few
0:08:31 > 0:08:36river swimming clubs remaining - and even they were under threat.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41I know that Roger came here, because he writes about it in Waterlog.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43- Roger Deakin, yes. - And he met you as well.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45- Yeah. - What was it like when he arrived?
0:08:45 > 0:08:47Well, he came...
0:08:47 > 0:08:50Quite honestly we were at a low point.
0:08:50 > 0:08:55We felt embattled by public opinion and authorities.
0:08:55 > 0:09:00And he was like a fairy godmother, giving us a standard to raise.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02So he galvanised you to fight for the future of the club?
0:09:02 > 0:09:04Absolutely, in a very clever way.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07It's just simply the publication of his book.
0:09:07 > 0:09:13When he came we just felt inspired and we just changed overnight.
0:09:13 > 0:09:20Since the publication of Waterlog, membership of the Farleigh club has steadily increased
0:09:20 > 0:09:26and people come from far and wide to enjoy these beautiful surroundings.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28It's not contrived.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31It's not a part of the materialistic world.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35If you can appreciate things that are non-materialistic,
0:09:35 > 0:09:40you are then able to live a truer life and get true enjoyment.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43Is there anything better than that?
0:09:45 > 0:09:52To embrace Rob's enthusiasm and to begin to understand more of Roger Deakin's passion for wild swimming,
0:09:52 > 0:10:00- I need to plunge in for my first ever river swim.- Fish in there.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07- Oh! It gets deep quickly.- Oh! - SHE LAUGHS
0:10:07 > 0:10:09Oh, no. I've got to get in now.
0:10:15 > 0:10:21'The murky water is far from inviting and feels very cold, even through my wetsuit.
0:10:25 > 0:10:32'But, despite that, there is a delightful feeling of breaking the rules and doing something naughty.'
0:10:37 > 0:10:40This is wonderful.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44I don't know. It feels like you're... in nature.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47It's lovely.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50'The river has always been a kind of escape route.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52'It's a way into another world.
0:10:52 > 0:10:57'And of course there is this secret network of ways into another world
0:10:57 > 0:11:01'all over Britain and they are our rivers.'
0:11:13 > 0:11:17- Well, how was that? - I feel as if I've been well and truly initiated. It was wonderful.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20- Great, great.- I think I'm addicted.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22- I'm really glad you enjoyed it. - It was lovely.
0:11:28 > 0:11:33So, Rob, I'd like you to give me some hot tips on where to go swimming. I was thinking about going down to...
0:11:33 > 0:11:37'With Rob giving me advice on promising places to go,
0:11:37 > 0:11:41'I'm ready to head off on the next stage of my journey.'
0:11:45 > 0:11:50That was a rather wonderful experience, I really enjoyed it.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52And Rob's right,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55swimming isn't just about the physical act of doing it.
0:11:55 > 0:11:56It's what's going on around you.
0:11:56 > 0:12:01And when you're swimming in a river, you've got those ripples you're creating as you're swimming,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04and you have this world which is framed by the banks and all
0:12:04 > 0:12:08the plants and the trees arching over you. It's just fantastic.
0:12:11 > 0:12:16What I definitely want to do is to explore some other places to do wild swimming.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20To get into rivers and lakes...
0:12:20 > 0:12:23and maybe even underground rivers.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26That would be fun.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28The possibilities are seeming quite endless now.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33And I'm going to start looking at maps in a different way.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36I'm not just going to be looking for...
0:12:36 > 0:12:40roads to places and interesting places in the landscape.
0:12:40 > 0:12:45I'm going to be looking for those blue, snaking lines and wondering where I can get into them.
0:12:51 > 0:12:56One thing that permeates Roger's writing is his love of wildlife and the environment.
0:12:56 > 0:13:02And it's this aspect of wild swimming I want to investigate next.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06'I've swum many times up this stretch of river.
0:13:06 > 0:13:11'It's very, very deep. It's a lovely place to swim in the summer
0:13:11 > 0:13:13'and a great haunt of the kingfisher.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19'When you're swimming, kingfishers
0:13:19 > 0:13:23'dive straight over you,
0:13:23 > 0:13:25'just in a flash.'
0:13:28 > 0:13:32I've come to the River Wye, upstream of Monmouth.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34It's a stretch ideal for a long swim and
0:13:34 > 0:13:39a chance to appreciate the river's renowned diversity of wildlife.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45What the Wye not renowned for, however, is its warmth.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47Oooh! SHIVERS
0:13:47 > 0:13:53And, as I'm planning to be in the water for more than two hours, I need to dress accordingly.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57Think of otters, they don't have to think about putting a wetsuit on in the morning.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59They just jump straight in.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03But then, of course, they've got a wetsuit of their own, naturally.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06Their fur traps air and acts as an
0:14:06 > 0:14:12insulation between them and the cold water.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15'It's not just the warmth of the wetsuit I'm going to be thankful for.
0:14:15 > 0:14:21'This will be my first solo swim and along a stretch that's completely unknown to me.
0:14:21 > 0:14:27'So the little bit of extra buoyancy it gives me will be also be reassuring as I venture out alone.'
0:14:40 > 0:14:46'I tend to swim the naturalist's stroke, breast-stroke, in rivers, mostly, because...
0:14:48 > 0:14:52'you just see more and you don't disturb things as much.'
0:15:00 > 0:15:03The water is so still.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05Really beautiful.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07It's like looking out across a mirror.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11And occasionally this incredibly
0:15:11 > 0:15:16still, mirror-like surface is broken by fish jumping up.
0:15:22 > 0:15:28'These swans are very much in their element and seem to treat me with almost complete distain.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32'They can glide upstream, apparently effortlessly.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36'Unlike me.' It's quite a fast flowing current here.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39I think swimming downstream might be easier.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46'Around me I catch sight of all manner of life.'
0:15:48 > 0:15:49Very beautiful.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57BIRD CALLS
0:16:03 > 0:16:07A buzzard! Wow.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11I can feel some weeds around my feet, just here.
0:16:14 > 0:16:19As the river gets shallower, these luminous plants abound, absorbing the sunlight.
0:16:19 > 0:16:26I can feel their tendrils brush my body as I'm borne faster and faster downstream.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36Well, that was a wonderful swim.
0:16:36 > 0:16:42I saw a lot of wildlife and it's really lovely being at that level, immersed in the river,
0:16:42 > 0:16:48feeling as though you really are in that environment with them, rather than watching them from a distance.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50And I don't think I disturbed them too much.
0:16:50 > 0:16:55I was just sharing their river for a few moments.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07There's no doubt that wetsuits are wonderful things but...
0:17:07 > 0:17:12but it does form a barrier between you and the...
0:17:12 > 0:17:14experience of being in the water, I suppose.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18Swimming in the river, when I was moving my hands through the water,
0:17:18 > 0:17:20I could feel the silkiness of the water.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23But I wasn't really getting that on the rest of my body at all.
0:17:23 > 0:17:28I suppose there's only really one way to deal with that, and that's to, um,
0:17:28 > 0:17:31leave the wetsuit behind.
0:17:31 > 0:17:38Before I discard my wetsuit, I want to know exactly what I'm going to be exposing my body to.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40So I've arranged to meet Professor Mike Tipton,
0:17:40 > 0:17:45the country's leading expert on the effects of immersion in cold water.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50Together with his assistant, Geoff, he's going to monitor what happens
0:17:50 > 0:17:53to my body when I plunge into this open-air pool.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56- Morning.- Hello, Alice. Nice to meet you.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58- Hello, I'm ready.- You're ready to go?
0:17:58 > 0:18:02OK. The first thing we'll do is take a picture of you using our infra-red camera.
0:18:02 > 0:18:07- We'll see your surface temperature. - I'll look nice and warm against the background.- I'd imagine so.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10Fresh out of the changing room, I'm still really warm
0:18:10 > 0:18:13and my body stands out clearly against the cool of the water.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16But it won't stay that way for long.
0:18:16 > 0:18:22- You'll cool about four to five times faster in water than in air at the same temperature.- Right.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25So this is why you get hypothermia so much quicker in water than in air?
0:18:25 > 0:18:29So any reflexes, any changes in my heart rate or my breathing, that's
0:18:29 > 0:18:33a reflex simply linked to what's going on on the surface of my body?
0:18:33 > 0:18:35Absolutely. That's where we're sensitive.
0:18:35 > 0:18:41We have four times more cold receptors in the skin than we have warm receptors.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43And that drives our sensation of cooling.
0:18:45 > 0:18:50'As I'm rigged up with a heart monitor, I feel more like a lab rat than a wild swimmer.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54'So it's a relief to finally get into the water.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01'The relief is short lived.'
0:19:01 > 0:19:03'The water is 15 degrees Centigrade,
0:19:03 > 0:19:08'the average summer river temperature in the UK. But it still takes my breath away.'
0:19:09 > 0:19:14So, my breathings going very quickly. GASPS
0:19:14 > 0:19:17- The heart-rate monitor is saying zero at the moment.- Oh, dear.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20Well, that's well over a hundred.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22There is goes, there it goes.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26So, normally you get it up to about 120, 130.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28But you very quickly get over that.
0:19:28 > 0:19:32It takes about 30 seconds to a minute to get over from that cold shock response.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35That's caused by that sudden fall in skin temperature.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37And that gasping? Is that normal?
0:19:37 > 0:19:39That uncontrollable gasping? Yeah.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43Of course, if you happen to have gone under the water, you've only got to take about a
0:19:43 > 0:19:47third of a breath in and you've gone past the lethal volume for drowning.
0:19:47 > 0:19:54'As I get my breathing under control I can appreciate other changes happening in my body.'
0:19:54 > 0:19:56There's a stinging sensation as well?
0:19:56 > 0:19:58Yeah, that's just the response of the cold receptors.
0:19:58 > 0:20:04You've got lots of cold receptors just below the surface and you've given them an enormous stimulus.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08They're sending lots of information into your spinal cord and brain.
0:20:08 > 0:20:13Meanwhile, you're also shutting down the blood to the skin, as the body tries to conserve heat.
0:20:13 > 0:20:18And slowly but surely the cold will anaesthetise all those receptors.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22So, you end up feeling numb and like you don't know where your arms are.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24And that's what affects things like swimming.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27So, now would be a good time for you to go for a swim.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29Moving would be a great idea.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31Go for it. Go for about four lengths.
0:20:33 > 0:20:39After sitting still for so long, it's a relief to be moving and the exercise starts to warm me up.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46But after experiencing the delights of my first river swim,
0:20:46 > 0:20:51these surroundings feel particularly unnatural and artificial.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06- How's it feel? - It feels quite warm, actually.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09I mean, I'm aware I'm in a cold environment.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11Can I get out?
0:21:11 > 0:21:13Yes. Can you manage?
0:21:13 > 0:21:15I've got a tingling sensation
0:21:15 > 0:21:17on my arms...
0:21:17 > 0:21:19No, I can't manage... Oh, that's strange.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23'After just a few minutes, the numbness in my limbs has
0:21:23 > 0:21:28'made even simple tasks like climbing out of the pool a real challenge.'
0:21:31 > 0:21:35The comparison between the earlier image from the infra-red camera and
0:21:35 > 0:21:40my current one shows the dramatic change in my skin temperature.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44But as I climb out of the water, I feel far from uncomfortable.
0:21:44 > 0:21:45How are you feeling?
0:21:45 > 0:21:50Well, actually, I feel good. My skin feels tingling.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52It feels quite warm and glowing.
0:21:52 > 0:21:57'That feeling is a result of the contrast when I emerge from the cold water into the warmer air.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59'Blood returns to the skin as it warms,
0:21:59 > 0:22:06'and that effect is clearly visible, given how bright my arms are, within a minute of leaving the pool.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10'And it's this sensation of exhilaration that's probably prompted
0:22:10 > 0:22:15'so many people to extol the virtues of cold-water bathing.'
0:22:19 > 0:22:23This form of hydrotherapy, which reached its zenith in
0:22:23 > 0:22:29the Victorian age, has encouraged thousands of people over the years to visit spas, springs and the seaside
0:22:29 > 0:22:34to treat a variety of ailments from arthritis to depression.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37Its advocates included such luminaries as Charles Darwin,
0:22:37 > 0:22:41Florence Nightingale and Lord Tennyson.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43But were they right?
0:22:43 > 0:22:47Are they any benefits to bathing in cold water?
0:22:47 > 0:22:51Clearly, you get this incredible stimulation to the body.
0:22:51 > 0:22:56But there's no evidence to suggest it improves your immune function
0:22:57 > 0:22:59or makes you live longer, or healthier.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03Even if it's not beneficial, I am going to be immersing myself in cold water quite a bit.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06- Have you any advice for me?- Yes.
0:23:06 > 0:23:11Get used to the cold so you take out that cold shock response, the most dangerous of all the responses.
0:23:11 > 0:23:16If you get a cold shock response, allow it to disappear before you start swimming.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19So you're not trying to swim with your breathing out of control.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27If I'm to relinquish my wetsuit and plunge into the cold embrace of a
0:23:27 > 0:23:31British river, then I need to prepare myself for this alien environment.
0:23:31 > 0:23:37I'm determined to respect nature and take the proper steps to acclimatise.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43Which is why I'm doing this...
0:23:45 > 0:23:48'Subjecting myself to a series of cold showers.'
0:23:48 > 0:23:50Oh, that's really cold!
0:23:50 > 0:23:55'But over the next few days, this regime seems to be doing the trick.
0:23:55 > 0:24:00'I no longer gasp uncontrollably at the first touch of cold water.'
0:24:02 > 0:24:08I'm now ready to recommence my wild swimming odyssey, but this time on the edge of Dartmoor.
0:24:08 > 0:24:14'My only purpose was to get thoroughly lost.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18'To disappear into the hills and tarns and miss my way home for as long as possible.
0:24:18 > 0:24:23'If I could find a string of swims and dips, each one surpassing
0:24:23 > 0:24:27'the last in aimlessness, so much the better.'
0:24:30 > 0:24:33Dartmoor is a spectacularly watery part of the country.
0:24:33 > 0:24:39No less than nine different rivers from the Taw and the Teign, to the Dart itself,
0:24:39 > 0:24:41rise from its peaty ground.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48But it's not just water that wells-up from this area.
0:24:48 > 0:24:53The literary output inspired by Dartmoor's rivers is truly impressive.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56Tarka the Otter frolicked in the River Taw.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00Charles Kingsley's novel The Water Babies
0:25:00 > 0:25:02was prompted by growing up here.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06And Ted Hughes' book of poems, The River,
0:25:06 > 0:25:09was sparked by the Dart and the Taw.
0:25:11 > 0:25:17But there's one piece of poetry that is particularly relevant for my next swimming spot.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21Alice Oswald's long poem, Dart,
0:25:21 > 0:25:27which paints a beguiling picture of the river from its source to its mouth.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29"Listen
0:25:29 > 0:25:33"A lark spinning around one note
0:25:33 > 0:25:35"Splitting and mending it
0:25:35 > 0:25:37"And I find you in the reeds
0:25:37 > 0:25:40"A trickle coming out of a bank
0:25:40 > 0:25:43"A foal of a river
0:25:43 > 0:25:48"One step-width water of linked stones
0:25:48 > 0:25:49"Trills in the stones
0:25:49 > 0:25:52"Glides in the trills
0:25:52 > 0:25:55"Eels in the glides
0:25:55 > 0:25:56"In each eel...
0:25:56 > 0:25:59"a finger-width of sea."
0:26:02 > 0:26:04The poem weaves together a collection of characters,
0:26:04 > 0:26:08from fishermen to lock-keepers and the river's own water spirits,
0:26:08 > 0:26:11to create it's own unique vision.
0:26:11 > 0:26:19But it's the passages that relate to a swimmer that tempt me into to the Dart's icy embrace.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23GASPS
0:26:23 > 0:26:26Oh, that's cold.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36"Menyahari, we scream in mid-air
0:26:36 > 0:26:38"We jump from a tree into a pool
0:26:38 > 0:26:42"We change ourselves into the fish dimension
0:26:42 > 0:26:47"Everybody swims here, under still-pool copse on a Saturday
0:26:47 > 0:26:51"Slapping the water with bare hands It's fine once you're in
0:26:51 > 0:26:55"Then I jumped In a rush of gold to the head
0:26:55 > 0:26:59"Through black and cold Red and cold, brown and warm
0:26:59 > 0:27:03"Giving water the weight and size of myself in order to imagine it
0:27:03 > 0:27:05"Water with my bones
0:27:05 > 0:27:08"Water with my mouth and my understanding."
0:27:14 > 0:27:19It is extremely cold. I think this water's probably, I don't know, about 10 degrees.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21GASPS
0:27:21 > 0:27:25I'm standing up in goose bumps all over, but it's also lovely.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28My body's tingling all over.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30It feels wonderful.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40Looking down at my arms, they look golden under the peaty water.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51"Where salmon swim with many a glittering
0:27:51 > 0:27:56"And herons flare and fold Look for a race of fresh water
0:27:56 > 0:27:58"Filling the sea with gold."
0:28:01 > 0:28:03- James.- Ah, hello!
0:28:03 > 0:28:08'I'm not the only one to be beguiled by Alice Oswald's lyricism and magic.'
0:28:08 > 0:28:13- It's a marvellous place to be. Shall we go and have a look at the river?- Let's do that.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17'West Country poet and writer James Crowden is another big fan of the poem Dart.'
0:28:17 > 0:28:21What she's done is very cleverly intertwined lots of different lives,
0:28:21 > 0:28:24different people living by the river, people visiting it.
0:28:24 > 0:28:29And it flows from one person's take on the river to another.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32And one of them, which I didn't know at the time,
0:28:32 > 0:28:34the swimmer was Roger Deakin, and that's magic
0:28:34 > 0:28:38because I knew Roger and loved his slightly rebellious streak.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41His love of freedom, always wanting to challenge things.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44If somebody says no swimming, he'll go in there.
0:28:46 > 0:28:51Like it's almost his birthright to go swimming in the rivers.
0:28:51 > 0:28:58James, what do you think it is about water and rivers in particular that inspires poets and writers?
0:28:58 > 0:29:00I think there are many things. I think there's the...
0:29:00 > 0:29:07visual nature of the river, which is what you first see, when you come through the woods as we did,
0:29:07 > 0:29:10and you stumble on a river, sometimes literally.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13There's a sort of vitality about rivers, they're always moving.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17And there's also a sense of not knowing, a sense of mystery.
0:29:20 > 0:29:26You see half the river, you don't often see below the surface. I think it's the unseen-ness of it.
0:29:26 > 0:29:32What you can't see is analogous to the subconscious, the unconscious.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34It's the forces that poets are instinctively drawn to
0:29:34 > 0:29:39by not knowing and they want to explore that with language.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42Roger Deakin here says, "Water is the most poetical of
0:29:42 > 0:29:46"elements allowing of no sudden or awkward movements.
0:29:46 > 0:29:50"Even a stone, dropped in, sinks gracefully."
0:29:50 > 0:29:53I think it's this gracefulness which
0:29:53 > 0:29:57you associate with rivers, and then there are rapids,
0:29:57 > 0:30:00and then there's gracefulness, which is like life itself.
0:30:00 > 0:30:02And you met Roger. What was he like as a person?
0:30:02 > 0:30:07Oh, he was great fun. He was always sort of enthusiastic and very keen.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11He just felt there was a freedom about rivers, which he identified with.
0:30:11 > 0:30:17He identified with that, not just by watching it, but by being in the medium, in the river.
0:30:17 > 0:30:19And that's when you really experience it.
0:30:19 > 0:30:24It's no good just observing it from the outside, you've got to go in and experience it.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28And it's a very good maxim of life to dive in and see what it's like.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34Just a little quote here, which I think is very appropriate.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37He says, "I know of few people
0:30:37 > 0:30:40"and no poet for whom water is not a first love.
0:30:40 > 0:30:47"We all spend the first eternal dreamtime of our lives in the same internal Mother Ocean.
0:30:47 > 0:30:52"So even after we have lost our gills and dived into the world,
0:30:52 > 0:30:54"we are forever water babies."
0:31:06 > 0:31:10That quote of Roger's really captures my imagination,
0:31:10 > 0:31:14partly for its eloquence, partly because I'm four months pregnant
0:31:14 > 0:31:18and carrying my very own water baby with me on this journey.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26And together we're off to that other Mother Ocean - the sea.
0:31:35 > 0:31:41This part of the North Devon Coast is noted more for its rocky coves than for sandy beaches.
0:31:43 > 0:31:45And this secluded bay is no exception.
0:31:47 > 0:31:52What it does boast, however, is a wonderful tidal pool.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59'I could think of no better prospect than to enhance the day
0:31:59 > 0:32:03'with bathing and walking on one of the best beaches I know...
0:32:05 > 0:32:12'One of the great joys is to swim in the lagoons that appear as the tide goes out.
0:32:15 > 0:32:17'They can be very warm
0:32:17 > 0:32:21'and I once stepped on a Dover sole in one.
0:32:23 > 0:32:30'As I swam back and forth in the clear saltwater, lulled by the rhythm of my own breathing,
0:32:30 > 0:32:36'I felt myself sinking deeper into the unconscious world of the sea.'
0:32:36 > 0:32:39The rock pool is teaming with life.
0:32:41 > 0:32:46And as I swim round, I'm aware of all sorts of different colours in the water beneath me.
0:32:51 > 0:32:54And the play of light on the water's surface.
0:32:54 > 0:33:00It's these aesthetic qualities that have drawn so many artists to use water as a subject.
0:33:03 > 0:33:05And I'm no exception.
0:33:19 > 0:33:24I like the contrast between the sharp, craggy rocks, which are...
0:33:24 > 0:33:27set in stone,
0:33:27 > 0:33:30and then this moving element that reflects them,
0:33:32 > 0:33:34and is giving back the light from the sky.
0:33:36 > 0:33:41It's very dynamic. It's incredibly difficult to capture it.
0:33:41 > 0:33:44I don't think I'll do it justice,
0:33:44 > 0:33:48but I think that's what draws artists to water -
0:33:48 > 0:33:50and particularly to the coast.
0:33:50 > 0:33:54It's endlessly changing, it's challenging
0:33:54 > 0:33:57and there's always drama there.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09Around the end of the 19th century,
0:34:09 > 0:34:13paintings like Ruby, Gold and Malachite by Henry Scott Tuke,
0:34:13 > 0:34:17which featured young men bathing, became very popular.
0:34:17 > 0:34:23They were thought to celebrate the great outdoors and encourage the taking of physical exercise in a time
0:34:23 > 0:34:28when industrialisation was moving people from the land to the cities.
0:34:30 > 0:34:35These images also provided an excuse to celebrate the sensuality of the human body.
0:34:38 > 0:34:42Paintings like Thomas Eakins' Swimming celebrate leisure,
0:34:42 > 0:34:44life,
0:34:44 > 0:34:45and sex.
0:34:49 > 0:34:53But artists are also drawn to water's more sinister aspects.
0:34:53 > 0:34:55John Millais' Ophelia,
0:34:55 > 0:34:58one of the most famous pre-Raphaelite paintings,
0:34:58 > 0:35:02records the drowning of its subject in uncannily accurate detail.
0:35:06 > 0:35:11John Waterhouse's Hylas And The Nymphs has a naive but handsome Hylas
0:35:11 > 0:35:13being seduced to an early grave
0:35:13 > 0:35:15by a group of water nymphs -
0:35:15 > 0:35:19a scene that captures both the attraction and the danger of water.
0:35:22 > 0:35:26This contrast, this duality that water has, on the one hand
0:35:26 > 0:35:30we need it to sustain life, and on the other it can kill us,
0:35:30 > 0:35:35has driven successive cultures to worship water deities since the dawn of time.
0:35:37 > 0:35:43The Greeks worshipped Poseidon and Triton, the Celts had individual river deities,
0:35:43 > 0:35:46and even today Hindus hold rivers sacred,
0:35:46 > 0:35:50none more so than the Ganges.
0:35:50 > 0:35:56But no civilization better encapsulates the veneration of water than the Romans.
0:36:01 > 0:36:08Right along Hadrian's Wall, the largest example of Roman remains in the country, one can find buildings,
0:36:08 > 0:36:16statues and carvings that attest to the spiritual importance water has had throughout human history.
0:36:35 > 0:36:40To understand water's mythological significance, I've come to
0:36:40 > 0:36:45the Chester's Fort Museum to see at first hand some of the evidence the Romans left behind.
0:36:50 > 0:36:54My guide, on this showery day, is one of the country's leading experts
0:36:54 > 0:36:58on folklore and mythology - Professor Ronald Hutton.
0:36:58 > 0:37:00Please come this way.
0:37:00 > 0:37:06The museum is home to a range of pieces collected from along the wall.
0:37:07 > 0:37:13But the most significant one for my purposes comes from a nearby spring.
0:37:13 > 0:37:17It's the carving of a Roman water goddess, Coventina.
0:37:17 > 0:37:20Coventina, this is Alice. Alice, this is Coventina.
0:37:20 > 0:37:25The introductions are important because the Romans would believe she'd look after you.
0:37:25 > 0:37:26If you were nice to her.
0:37:26 > 0:37:31Coventina's actually reclining on a pitcher and the water's flowing out.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34That's the water which becomes the spring itself.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37So, would they make offerings to her?
0:37:37 > 0:37:38Oh, good grief, didn't they just!
0:37:38 > 0:37:4413,482 coins are known to have been found in that spring,
0:37:45 > 0:37:50all thrown in in order to get Coventina on your side.
0:37:50 > 0:37:54That's largely because the water up here is so moody,
0:37:54 > 0:37:59you can turn from a normal stream to a flash flood within a few minutes.
0:37:59 > 0:38:03And to have the spirits on your side was extremely important.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05So, this is much more than just a wishing well, then?
0:38:05 > 0:38:08It's far more, it's a matter of life and death.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11If you're going to swim in this neighbourhood, she's a useful friend to have.
0:38:19 > 0:38:25The ancients' belief in the power of water can also be seen in the buildings they constructed.
0:38:30 > 0:38:36Water is purifying. It washes away sin, it washes away guilt, it washes away care.
0:38:36 > 0:38:40Cleansing yourself spiritually is one of the greatest single ritual acts of humanity,
0:38:40 > 0:38:42known right across the ancient world.
0:38:42 > 0:38:46And that translates into ideas of baptism as well, I suppose.
0:38:46 > 0:38:50Absolutely so. You are washing away your old self.
0:38:50 > 0:38:54Talking to Ronald, it's clear that water's significance
0:38:54 > 0:38:58goes far beyond religious symbolism, even now in the 21st century.
0:38:58 > 0:39:04Water is the moodiest of all elements and the most ubiquitous.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06It comes from the sky and it rises from the earth.
0:39:06 > 0:39:10It connects Heaven and Earth in a way that nothing else quite does.
0:39:10 > 0:39:15And throughout the world's languages, so many of the terms we
0:39:15 > 0:39:20use for emotion, for fury, for hate, for pathos, are related to water.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22Pouring out your heart,
0:39:22 > 0:39:26going with the flow, welling up with emotion.
0:39:26 > 0:39:32It can change in a moment, from being smiling and cheerful
0:39:32 > 0:39:37and embracing and playful, to being angry, turbulent and lethal.
0:39:37 > 0:39:42Water is the mirror of our soul.
0:39:55 > 0:39:59It's with some trepidation that I leave Professor Hutton behind
0:39:59 > 0:40:02and head west along Hadrian's Wall.
0:40:07 > 0:40:11My destination is one of the remote loughs that lie within sight of the Wall -
0:40:11 > 0:40:15bodies of water the Romans themselves must have used.
0:40:20 > 0:40:26Now, if it was a gloriously sunny day, I would consider going into this lough in a swimming costume.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29But it is cold and it is windy, so I've opted for a wetsuit.
0:40:29 > 0:40:36Nevertheless, it is an auspicious day to be communing with the ancients because, as Ronald Hutton reminded me
0:40:36 > 0:40:40this morning, today the hours of daylight equal the hours of darkness.
0:40:40 > 0:40:42It's the Autumn Equinox.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05'You might, if you wish, imagine as you dive in,
0:41:05 > 0:41:13'that you're encountering millennia of human experience, of hope, of fear, of passion, of reverence.
0:41:13 > 0:41:18'That you could be entering the source of life itself.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21'You'd be entering the entrance to the realm of death.'
0:41:47 > 0:41:50I'm not sure if I've come out of the water a different person,
0:41:50 > 0:41:56but certainly as I was swimming around I couldn't help thinking about what Ronald was saying
0:41:56 > 0:41:58about water as a gateway to another place.
0:41:58 > 0:42:06And again this water has this wonderful peatiness, so that as your hands go through, they disappear.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09You almost lose sight of yourself in its depths.
0:42:15 > 0:42:21The idea that water is a gateway, a route to another world,
0:42:21 > 0:42:23is a particularly enthralling and romantic one.
0:42:23 > 0:42:28It's especially relevant when I consider my next swim.
0:42:41 > 0:42:46I'm in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales, and I'm really excited about today
0:42:46 > 0:42:51because I'm going to be doing a wild swim that's quite unlike any that I've done so far.
0:42:53 > 0:42:57I'm expecting to meet my fellow swimmers...
0:42:57 > 0:43:00Oh, there they are.
0:43:00 > 0:43:02Wearing quite unusual gear for swimming.
0:43:05 > 0:43:07- Hello.- Is it Alice?
0:43:07 > 0:43:10- Hi, I'm Daniel.- Hello. And Joe?- Hi.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13- Here to do a bit of caving, then. And cave swimming?- Yes.
0:43:13 > 0:43:17- I need to get proper caving gear on? - Probably a wetsuit as well.
0:43:17 > 0:43:21- OK, lovely. I'll do that, then. - See you in a minute.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28This part of Yorkshire, close to the border with Cumbria and Lancashire,
0:43:28 > 0:43:32is one of the country's principle areas for caving.
0:43:32 > 0:43:36The limestone rock that gives this area its distinctive look
0:43:36 > 0:43:39is riddled with miles of caverns and passageways.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42And attracts cavers from across the UK.
0:43:45 > 0:43:47Daniel's interest isn't caving.
0:43:47 > 0:43:50He's one of the country's pre-eminent wild swimmers,
0:43:50 > 0:43:54having written not one, but two guidebooks on the subject.
0:43:54 > 0:43:58But even he hasn't tackled a swim like the one that awaits us.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01I kind of think this is where water begins its life.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05It percolates down into the mountain, and then collects down under the hills.
0:44:05 > 0:44:11And we might as well go down and see where it all begins in the dark, very feral, maybe Gollum-like.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14- So, I think it'll be quite an exciting experience.- Fantastic.
0:44:14 > 0:44:16We head down the gorge here, don't we?
0:44:20 > 0:44:24Joe and his caving colleagues have set up this whole expedition.
0:44:24 > 0:44:29But even though I've been caving before, I still feel a slight nervousness.
0:44:31 > 0:44:33Lights on. Check like that.
0:44:36 > 0:44:37Great stuff.
0:44:45 > 0:44:49As we crawl in, I'm aware of the insidious presence of water.
0:44:49 > 0:44:54Whether it's falling as rain, flowing as a river or seeping through rock,
0:44:54 > 0:44:58it occurs to me that water seems to permeate every aspect of the world around us.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09'Geologically, the tunnelling of the limestone
0:45:09 > 0:45:14'probably began at the end of the last Ice Age, 11,000 years ago,
0:45:14 > 0:45:16'when the melt water from above
0:45:16 > 0:45:20'burst down a weakness in the limestone layer
0:45:20 > 0:45:23'and bored out the gorge by dissolving the rock.'
0:45:23 > 0:45:28The surroundings are both oppressive and inspiring.
0:45:28 > 0:45:29You OK?
0:45:29 > 0:45:32Yeah.
0:45:32 > 0:45:34It's quite deep here. Bit of a cavern.
0:45:37 > 0:45:38Not too far, though.
0:45:38 > 0:45:41It's a relief to be able to walk upright,
0:45:41 > 0:45:46but it occurs to me that this cave must flood completely at times.
0:45:46 > 0:45:49When it rains, the stream must swell into torrent of water -
0:45:49 > 0:45:51not an encouraging thought.
0:45:59 > 0:46:01- It suddenly gets deep.- Look at this!
0:46:01 > 0:46:05It's like a river of silver stretching down there.
0:46:05 > 0:46:09- It's like something from fairy tales.- Very special.
0:46:09 > 0:46:13'Enchanting it may be, but crouching on the edge of the pool,
0:46:13 > 0:46:19'there's also something unnerving about the prospect of a swim here in the bowels of the Earth.'
0:46:19 > 0:46:21Are you going to go first, Daniel?
0:46:21 > 0:46:25Well, I was going to say ladies first, but I'll give it a go.
0:46:25 > 0:46:27You go first, Daniel.
0:46:27 > 0:46:29This is real wild swimming.
0:46:29 > 0:46:33It is so beautiful. I mean, the way the rock is all rippled,
0:46:33 > 0:46:36as well as the water.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39This is the entrance to the Underworld you're now entering, Daniel.
0:46:39 > 0:46:44- HE GASPS - Woo! Here I go!
0:46:48 > 0:46:52As Daniel slips away from me, I don't know which of us is the more uneasy.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59I can't help but wonder just how deep it is beneath me.
0:47:04 > 0:47:06I'm too scared to go all the way down.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09I'm just going to stay closer to you.
0:47:09 > 0:47:14It's like swimming down inside the belly of a whale.
0:47:19 > 0:47:23Up at the top, where the water droplets are shining, it's like little silver stars.
0:47:26 > 0:47:29'I can't put it off any longer.
0:47:29 > 0:47:33'It's my turn to sink into these inky black depths.
0:47:34 > 0:47:40'My heart thumps in my chest and I fight back thoughts of monsters rising from the deep.'
0:47:42 > 0:47:46This is that strange mixture of being scary and beautiful at the same time.
0:47:51 > 0:47:53That's really spooky.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56I'm not thinking about what's down there.
0:47:56 > 0:48:02'Concentrating on the beauty of the moment helps keep my fears at bay.'
0:48:04 > 0:48:06It's stunning.
0:48:06 > 0:48:10'There is something atavistic about all swimming.
0:48:10 > 0:48:15'But this was so intensely primitive it was visceral.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18'It was like a dream of being born.'
0:48:21 > 0:48:27'The shining stream beckons me on and I'm drawn further and further away from my companions.'
0:48:27 > 0:48:29Don't go too far!
0:48:29 > 0:48:32I think the cave continues underwater.
0:48:33 > 0:48:36It's so deep! I can't feel the bottom at all.
0:48:41 > 0:48:46'Swimming here in the darkness with just the odd shimmering of light playing on the cave walls,
0:48:46 > 0:48:48'it feels like I could carry on -
0:48:48 > 0:48:53'right into the centre of earth or into the Underworld.'
0:49:02 > 0:49:07It's quite strange because I'm not entirely sure I believe this is real.
0:49:07 > 0:49:11Swimming down towards the end, you just think, "Am I dreaming it?"
0:49:26 > 0:49:29Wow! It was like you disappeared into another world down there.
0:49:29 > 0:49:31It felt like it.
0:49:31 > 0:49:36I think that more than anywhere I've swum, felt like what Ronald Hutton was talking to me about,
0:49:36 > 0:49:40when you enter water and it takes you from one dimension into another.
0:49:40 > 0:49:45I mean, that just really felt like I could carry on swimming into the darkness.
0:49:45 > 0:49:47Oh.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50- It's chilly, but amazing. - Totally surreal place, isn't it?
0:49:50 > 0:49:52Yeah. Really, really beautiful.
0:49:57 > 0:50:04The dreamlike feeling stays with me, and even the damp glade we return to seems to retain a peculiar magic.
0:50:04 > 0:50:10It's very difficult to make these choices, but I think that was my favourite wild swim so far.
0:50:10 > 0:50:15It was a really intense experience and stunningly beautiful down there.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18And it really felt as if we were going into another world.
0:50:18 > 0:50:20How did you find it, Daniel?
0:50:20 > 0:50:22Oh. It was mesmerising, wasn't it?
0:50:22 > 0:50:24There's no other words for it. Otherworldly.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27It's the most amazing place I've been wild swimming, for sure.
0:50:29 > 0:50:33As I've made my odyssey from one swim to another,
0:50:33 > 0:50:37I've developed a deeper appreciation for the soggy British countryside.
0:50:37 > 0:50:44I'm sure Roger, whose environmental concerns put him years ahead of his time, would have agreed.
0:50:44 > 0:50:47'I climbed into the river where it ran through a miniature ravine
0:50:47 > 0:50:52'full of the heather, bracken, stonecrop, thyme, and gorse.
0:50:52 > 0:50:55'A little further on, a solitary sycamore
0:50:55 > 0:51:00'stood sentinel over a sheep-nibbled lawn of buttercups and daisies.
0:51:00 > 0:51:03'Here I made delicious tea with the river water,
0:51:03 > 0:51:09'devoured pennywort leaves, and fell into a deep sleep.'
0:51:09 > 0:51:12In the years since his death, Roger's legacy seems to have grown
0:51:12 > 0:51:18in importance and his books have sold all over the world.
0:51:18 > 0:51:23His last book is a collection of notes from his diary.
0:51:23 > 0:51:28It was put together by one of his friends and his partner, Alison Hastie, who shared
0:51:28 > 0:51:33many of Roger's concerns about the environment and his love of swimming.
0:51:36 > 0:51:40I can't ask Roger what he thinks of my journey, so I've arranged to meet
0:51:40 > 0:51:44Alison to see what she makes of my own Waterlog.
0:51:47 > 0:51:49Alison, what was Roger like?
0:51:49 > 0:51:52Well, he was fantastic fun. Yeah, really good fun. He was very energetic.
0:51:52 > 0:51:56Every day was an adventure, there was no doubt about it.
0:51:56 > 0:52:01It was a wonderful time that I knew him and that we spent together. It was great, yeah.
0:52:01 > 0:52:06And had he always enjoyed swimming or was that something he particularly got into in later life?
0:52:06 > 0:52:09I think he's always liked it. It was a passion for him.
0:52:09 > 0:52:14And it was just a way in which he immediately was able to transport
0:52:14 > 0:52:19himself literally and change his mood and made him feel good.
0:52:19 > 0:52:22And I think that's why people love swimming.
0:52:22 > 0:52:27It shifts you into another dimension, just instantly.
0:52:27 > 0:52:32And then also has that fantastic reverb afterwards when you come out.
0:52:32 > 0:52:33I loved reading Roger's books.
0:52:33 > 0:52:38It made me want to get out and go swimming in wild places.
0:52:38 > 0:52:42Why do you think it's had such an inspirational effect on people?
0:52:42 > 0:52:44I think it's Roger's writing.
0:52:44 > 0:52:49I think it was from the heart, it was very genuine and the way it's written is so infectious,
0:52:49 > 0:52:53he would be encouraging anybody and everybody to have a go at swimming.
0:52:53 > 0:52:58It's not something that you have to have a special gift or have money or be in a particular place.
0:52:58 > 0:53:01It really is available to everyone.
0:53:01 > 0:53:06I think that's the sort of exciting secret adventure that you can have.
0:53:06 > 0:53:09As a relative newcomer to this, have you got any advice for me?
0:53:09 > 0:53:14Well, I think you've definitely got to go skinny dipping.
0:53:14 > 0:53:17- Right.- I'm sorry, Alice. It's got to be done.
0:53:17 > 0:53:20Because then that's such a secret adventure.
0:53:20 > 0:53:26The water just licks around you and that's a beautiful, beautiful sensation.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29And it's a lovely, lovely thing to do.
0:53:29 > 0:53:31And you'll do it more than once!
0:53:35 > 0:53:41A skinny dip has been at the back of my mind for a while and Alison's advice has convinced me to do it.
0:53:41 > 0:53:43The only question has been where.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50I want to go somewhere as wild as possible, a secret place,
0:53:50 > 0:53:54somewhere that is remote and beautiful.
0:53:58 > 0:54:02I'm drawn to one of the wettest places in England, the Lake District.
0:54:16 > 0:54:22'Searching the map I had seen some promising upland streams, a waterfall and a tarn.
0:54:22 > 0:54:25'So I hiked off uphill through the bracken.
0:54:27 > 0:54:29'I went there to be a long way
0:54:29 > 0:54:34'from all those powerful stimuli Wordsworth said prevented us
0:54:34 > 0:54:38'from doing any proper thinking.'
0:54:41 > 0:54:44Wow. That looks beautiful.
0:54:47 > 0:54:49Well, this is it.
0:54:49 > 0:54:52This is where I've chosen to do my ultimate wild swim.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55It looks beautiful. It may not be the best weather,
0:54:55 > 0:54:58but what a fantastic place to go for a dip.
0:55:24 > 0:55:28As I dive in, I feel a tingling on every part of my skin.
0:55:28 > 0:55:33It's partly the cold water against every inch of me and
0:55:33 > 0:55:37partly the excitement of indulging in a truly illicit pleasure.
0:55:41 > 0:55:44The gentle currents from the waterfall eddy all around me.
0:55:49 > 0:55:51The feeling of freedom is intoxicating.
0:55:53 > 0:55:55Cares and concerns are washed away.
0:55:55 > 0:56:00It feels like it's just me and the water.
0:56:41 > 0:56:43That's really intense.
0:56:43 > 0:56:46Absolutely wonderful.
0:56:46 > 0:56:48I'm just bathing in the afterglow at the moment.
0:56:48 > 0:56:53The adrenaline is rushing round my body. I feel glowing.
0:56:53 > 0:56:56I feel really warm, fantastic.
0:57:02 > 0:57:07For me, the last two weeks have been immersive, literally.
0:57:07 > 0:57:12I've had some quite other-worldly experiences.
0:57:14 > 0:57:17But as several of the people have said, that sense of going to
0:57:17 > 0:57:20another place is at the heart of wild swimming's attraction.
0:57:23 > 0:57:27Whether the journey has involved looking at the world from a different perspective
0:57:27 > 0:57:33or completely forgetting about my usual pre-occupations,
0:57:33 > 0:57:40the swims I've experienced have all transcended the simple physical pleasure of the act itself.
0:57:42 > 0:57:44And then finally -
0:57:44 > 0:57:49getting to swim somewhere like this, so beautiful and wild,
0:57:49 > 0:57:54you don't just feel close to nature, you feel part of it.
0:57:54 > 0:57:58And it's a world away from swimming in a man-made pool.
0:58:00 > 0:58:07I feel as though I can understand what it is about wild swimming
0:58:07 > 0:58:12that so inspired the man who set me off on this journey, Roger Deakin.
0:58:46 > 0:58:49Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:49 > 0:58:52E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk