gifts for wild swimmers



























Endura's oversized insulated dryrobe, for quick changes in cold weather. (Voited's and Vivida's cozy insulated changing robes also caught my eye, as did Sand Cloud's terry poncho for warmer days.)

A Irish crofter's storm kettle, for brewing warming drinks.

Barbara Bosworth's Diana's Baths: a collection of photographs that "evoke the mythological ambiance of a woodland pool."

wooly Donegal hat, always useful.

Neoprene boots, to keep away the chill.

Extra-cozy and plush Pendleton x Snow Peak towels, for drying off. 

A lightweight chair with a square base designed to sit solidly on sandy and pebbly shores.

Charles Sprawson's absolutely mesmeric and singular cultural history of swimming (I love this book) or Waterlog, Roger Deakin's chronicle of swimming "the seas, rivers, lakes, ponds, pools, streams, lochs, moats, and quarries" of Britain.

jumbo nylon bag, for schlepping wet towels and gear.

A sink-or-float thermometer, for calculating how long to stay in.


A handy Geoffry Fisher brush, for knocking off dried-on detritus.

Delicious coffee toffee, as a reward for taking the plunge, if the endorphins are not enough.

A trip to Iceland to snorkle in the gap between two continents.