Book of Swims
A Sea Swimming Diary
Self-published • 2020
The Book of Swims is an illustrated diary that tells the story of days spent sea-swimming at a tiny beach in north Edinburgh.
A visual and written record of the changing faces of the beach and the experience of cold-water swimming.
My sea-swimming began in the summer of 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the world and I discovered a small beach a short walk from my city home.
Swimming under the open sky, cocooned by the cold sea, calmed and grounded me amid all the anxiety and uncertainty.
I began sketching the beach each time I visited, a way of recording the ever-changing seascape and reflecting upon my place within it.
After building up a large body of work I decided to create The Book of Swims, a selection of these drawings accompanied by notes made at the time.
Fifty percent of the profits from sales of the book are donated to the Marine Conservation Fund, a way of giving something back to the tiny beach that gave me so much.
The book and selected prints are available from my online shop.