Wild Waters

Susanne Masters is a plant scientist, writer and swimmer who loves connecting people with nature and the environment. She studied conservation science and ethnobotany, and works on the botanical side of product development for the spa and distilling industries, with a particular interest in sustainable wild harvesting and cultivation. Susanne has written about wildlife and travel for a broad range of media, including BBC Wildlife magazine, BBC Earth, BBC Travel, Countryfile magazine, the Guardian, Red Bull Adventure and the New York Times. She writes a monthly column on wildlife for Outdoor Swimmer magazine, and has contributed to The World Atlas of Street Food and Kew’s Teas, Tonics and Tipples. She has swum in the Bosphorus race from Asia to Europe, at a winter festival in China, and at high altitude in Bhutan. She swims outdoors all year round in the UK. Alice Goodridge is an illustrator and avid outdoor enthusiast with a passion for adventure and a background in environmental research. An experienced long-distance cold-water swimmer and swimming coach, she founded SwimWild in 2018, enabling people to have fun while building their confidence and skills in open water around the Scottish Highlands and islands.

‘A deep dive into the aquatic world, Wild Waters is a fascinating guide to where we swim and the wildlife we might encounter there. Part field guide, part natural and human history of our waterways, Wild Waters is engagingly written with a scientist’s eye for detail by Susanne Masters and beautifully illustrated by Alice Goodridge. Full of fascinating facts as well as elegant prose and drawings, Masters shares her knowledge about the wildlife we swim with and the places that we swim in to help you have a deeper connection with the water on your next wild swim. A magical book.’–  Jonathan Cowie, editor of Outdoor Swimmer