Last month we reviewed the beautifully created and thoughtfully curated ‘Outdoor Swimming Guide” from Vertebrate Publishing. So we jumped at the chance to dive into their latest book by Lisa Drewe called ‘England & Wales Island Bagging’. The book is a guide to adventures on the islands of England, Wales, the Channel Islands & The Isle of Man.

The guide is a stunning and informative book that is ideal for wild swimmers, kayakers, van lifers, wildlife lovers and archipelagic adventurers. It traverses almost 300 islands, from larger, populated and well-known ones to undiscovered gems which can only be reached during low tide or need local knowledge to find. We loved its unique take on exploration and the angle of focusing on islands. After all, we live on the great Emerald Isle and often the British forget that we are constantly surrounded by water on all sides, a veritable smorgasbord for any wild swimmer.

First up the guide is again in the more compact format we have come to love from Vertebrate publishing. It’s designed to be taken with you, packed in your adventure mobile and be a part of your adventures. They’ve managed to combine this practicality with jaw-dropping photos, but more on those later, first onto the guide itself. The introduction is very detailed and provides key insight for either a complete beginner or expert. It covers everything from weather patterns, responsible exploration, wildlife and critters and tide times. This sets the scene for the islands to come.

The book is broken down into regional segments which makes it easy to digest and reuse. Each segment has multiple islands within it and offers advice on access, the background of the island itself, useful links to extra information and recommended activities on the island itself. Take Brownsea Island in the Isle of Wight & South Coast section. It starts by telling you that the access is by small ferry, kayak and doesn’t allow dogs. It then goes onto to recommend a circular walk around the island where “the route returns to the pier via a peacock-filled lawn in front of the church which is a great place for a picnic”. As if that wasn’t enough to pull you in Lisa then elaborates that you can go ‘spotting for spoonbills’ and ‘watch red squirrels’, absolutely magic!

The real standout is the maps that accompany each region. They include driving routes and access points to make navigation easier. In addition, they’ve employed a handy key that highlights key beaches, historical sites, nature reserves and food & drink (critical for that post island adventure scoff!). These maps really get the mind racing and gives you the birds-eye view of your next adventure habitat.

There is also some quite simply beautiful photography all through the book. It makes great use of double-page spread shots which add real impact when you move through the chapters. The double-page spread photo of Belvoir Bay that greets you as you start the Channel Islands chapter had us wanting to don our trunks and dive straight into the book itself! It is this chapter that is particularly magical. It explores in intricate detail the islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Sark, Herm and Alderney. The photos throughout showcase spectacular coastlines, bucolic lanes and old-world charm. Great care has been taken to uncover these oft-overlooked gems and invokes a real sense of magic that somewhere so unknown is so close to home, just waiting to be discovered.

The author Lisa clearly is a true islomanicac. But what is really great is how clear it is that she wants to share that with everyone and anyone. There is no elitism within the descriptions and the advice and practical side of the guide are carried out with such attention to detail that it is obvious that she has a real passion for encouraging others to seek out their own archipelagos for exploration. But she saved my favourite part of the guide for last, ‘The Islands, top tens”. I’m a sucker for a list but the top ten lists at the back of the book had me scrambling for my scrapbook to hatch future wild swimming plans. From ‘Top 10 Islands for Wild Swimming’ to ‘Top 10 Islands for Ancient History’ and of course our personal favourite ‘Top 10 Islands for Pubs’

This truly is essential reading for the adventurous soul and offers a fresh perspective on the unique topography and ecology of island environments. It is an expert guide lovingly crafted for swimmers and adventurers alike who are ready to head out on their own and expertly combines sumptuous photography with detailed and informative practical information.

You can check out the book and get a copy of it - now

England & Wales Island Bagging - Book Review