Three brothers. Born in Yorkshire. Raised in the Lake District.

writing

OUTDOOR SWIMMING books & articles by

jack HUDSON

 

★★★★★

Amazon Customer

“I absolutely loved this book. From the very first chapter, you’re thrown right into the adventure. From the nostalgia surrounding the River Eden, to the myths and legends of the world’s greatest maelstroms, this was a complete joy to read…”

 

★★★★★

Amazon Customer

“My brother in law is having a mid-life crisis, transforming himself from a flabby bar room bore into a toned, pumped up wild swimmer daily jumping into Coniston Water in the Lake District (all year round freezing) and swimming the lake with a great lunging breast stroke. This book will inspire him…”

 

★★★★★

Viktor Machek

“I want to recommend this amazing book. Really enjoyable. Great adventures and tales from wild swimming. Not only for swimmers.”

 

★★★★

Ellen Taylor

“Exciting descriptions of world-first swims. Great for adventure/nature lovers.”

 

swim wild is the wild swimming brothers’ story, written by jack and published by Hodder & Stoughton imprint Yellow Kite.

‘Swim Wild’ charts our childhood together and delves into the source of our motivation to attempt swims no one had ever done before.

The book is Jack’s personal account of our adventures to motivate others with similarly unfulfilling jobs, and too much time spent in the blank company of pigeons, to get outdoors and seek more creative lives, with less restrictions.

The story includes a crossing of the Moskstraumen (the last maelstrom we swam across) described in Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea, when the Nautilus reportedly blunders into the ‘ocean’s deadliest whirlpool’ and disappears. Follow us across the world’s strongest maelstrom too (the Saltstraumen) and join our 9-day source-to-sea river swim.

This is a motivational travelogue that will hopefully show you that you don’t need to be ex-military, well-funded or even well-spoken to launch cool expeditions and explore the world. The narrative is simpy written and driven by the furnace of fierce maternal figures, encouraging a more caring, powerful and responsible existence.

Swim Wild includes contributions and illustrations from older brothers, Calum and Robbie.

 
 
 

Both Hardback and Paperback editions of Swim Wild are available now from bookshops around the UK. You can also order a copy from Amazon and other online retailers if you’re elsewhere on our ocean planet.

 
I later realised that hard-earned rest is not only redemptive - being a form of expiation for pent-up guilt and laziness - it’s also revelatory, you know? It brings you closer to the truth that limits are nothing but conventions. You can go further than you ever have before, so long as you can conceive of doing so...
— Jack Hudson (Ch.3 Corryvreckan)
 

 
 

articles (IN PRINT)

the great escape // another escape

The Great Escape is Jack’s introduction to Another Escape’s The Water Volume.

The Water Volume explores our human connection to water. It dives into underwater worlds and experiences impactful encounters with marine life - it uncovers a yearning for cold, curative waters to provide balance, clarity and space for creativity…

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britain’s 20 best outdoor swim spots // telegraph

Read Jack’s spot-hunting article from The Telegraph - ‘Nothing beats that rush of finding a new place to bathe outdoors. It’s the stuff of wild swimming dreams: you scramble through a screen of bushes like a countryside Columbus. Then suddenly a private waterfall appears, tumbling through fingers of mist into a clear pool edged by rocks. A dragonfly skitters across the surface and the cliff walls cool you under their smooth shelves…’ 

Read the full article

 

swimming siblings, swimming wild // outdoor swimmer (interview)

In this interview with the Outdoor Swimmer (the world’s only magazine dedicated to open water/wild swimming), Jack travelled down to Brockwell Lido for a bracing 3C dip and a brownie-fuelled chat with the wonderful Ella Foote

Read about our Durdle Door event in Outdoor Swimmer

 

articles (online)

 
 

wild swimming listicles // red bull

Jack covered for then Adventure Editor, Pip Stewart, and spent two days at the Red Bull UK office in London, focused on editing outdoor swimming and adventure content. He also wrote the following articles… 

A beginner's guide to wild swimming in the UK

5 secret wild swims in the UK and Ireland

10 Best Wild Swimming Spots In and Around London


the swim schools of bangladesh // adventure uncovered

Jack wrote an article for Adventure Uncovered about foreign news journalist and qualified swim teacher, Becky Horsbrugh, who travelled to Bangladesh to provide assistance for a drowning prevention scheme. She’d recently been introduced to a harrowing fact - that 50 children die a day from drowning in Bangladesh…

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swim wild // outdoor swimming society

Jack wrote an article for our friends at the Outdoor Swimming Society - it covered various ideas about overcoming obstacles and redefining your own personal limits, whilst also exploring the reasons why outdoor swimming can be such a great hobby to pick up in the long run…

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