What’s This Page About Digger?
Learn the bare necessities of wild swimming here without having to leave your computer chair. Or more realistically just have a look at a few nice photos in the gazetteers, new swims and swimming with history pages.
“In the middle of the summer on the west coast of SwedenWe had sandwiches in our bags waiting to be eatenOver fallen trees the sun was drifting through the leavesAnd you lead me to the biggest lake I’d ever seen.So let’s go swimming this afternoonThe water here is so clear I can see the bottomAnd it’s so strange in winter all this will be frozen solid”(Lets go swimming, by Allo Darlin’ 2009– who even have a photo of someone swimming in a lake in the sleeve notes to the album of the same name as the band. Respect!)
Like Father/Mum, like Son?
This part of my website is dedicated to my dad who passed away on the 14th March 2003 and to my mum who passed away on 24th June 2019. In their youth they both swam in rivers (it was a normal thing to do back then).
They can both be seen in the photo above during a protest swim against the closure of the Aston ferry across the River Thames near Hambleden, Bucks. in 1958 (ish).
The same spot over 45 years on………….
Contrary to popular belief the Bayeux Tapestry isn’t a technically a tapestry, was actually made in England, and tells the story of a “hunky” knight known as Digger who enjoys a good swim rather than all the fighting that went on in the 11th century (ed. can you guess which of these facts is true?). It is often put on display in Denovan Castle near Kippen, which is the sister (Rosie) castle of the better known Stirling Castle, where Skylord Ben Kirk (tapestry-maker) was crowned some time after Mary Queen of Scottish Wild Swimming (ed. Errh, are all these facts accurate?)
The gazetteer
This gazetteer has been up and running on the internet since the time of the Bayeux Tapestry…..
It tries to contain basic information on some of my “best” or “favourite” swimming places. For this reason I have obviously only included places where I have actually swam. Due to the ever increasing number of swims, I now have separate pages for Scotland, Wales, England and other countries – see below or the the drop down Wild Swimming menu above.
COME ON IN The Water Is Lovely
Pages in this section:
- Swimming with history
- NEW Wild Swim Locations
- The Bare Necessities
- England
- BEST in Surrey
- BEST in Hertfordshire
- BEST in West Sussex
- BEST in Cornwall
- BEST in Wiltshire
- Best in BEDfordshire
- Best in Buckinghamshire
- Best in Cambridgeshire
- Best in Dorset
- Best in Hampshire
- Best in Herefordshire
- Best in Lake District
- Best in Northumberland
- Best in Peak District
- Best in Shropshire
- Best in Staffordshire
- Best in Suffolk
- Best in Yorkshire
- Scotland
- Ardnamurchan
- Perthshire
- Braemar
- Cairngorms
- Fort William
- Gairloch
- Glen Carron
- Glen Coe/Glen Etive
- (Isle of) Arran
- (Isle of) Eigg
- Isle of Harris
- Isle of Iona
- Isle of Lewis
- Isle of Mull
- Isle of Skye
- (Isle of) Staffa
- (Isle of) Ulva
- Kintail
- Kyle of Lochaish
- Paisley (south of)
- Sutherland
- Stirlingshire
- Tiree (Inner Hebrides)
- Torridon/Shieldaig/Gairloch
- Trossachs
- Tyndrum/Crianlarich
- Ullapool/Lochinver
- Wales
- Rest of the world
*IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER
Like all open water swimming, and life in general, there are DANGERS, HAZARDS and RISKS involved in this activity. If you are not an experienced and confident swimmer, not used to cold water and not used to swimming in rivers in Britain you would be stupid to try it however warm, flat and inviting it may look.
Every effort has been made in the preparation of this document to provide as accurate information as possible. All statements and opinions are offered in good faith. The author cannot accept any responsibility for errors resulting from data supplied by a third party or the influence of alcohol or even the onset of old age. Therefore the author will not be liable for any loss of life or injury (however hideous) arising from decisions or actions made upon the basis of this document.