More than 100 people from swimming groups across Scotland joined authors Anna Deacon and Vicky Allan for a chilly dip in the sea at Portobello at the weekend to mark the launch of their latest book.
The Ripple Effect: A Celebration of Britain's Brilliant Wild Swimming Communities charts the surge in popularity of wild swimming groups during and after Covid. It looks at why people have stuck with the habit and how they and their wider communities have benefited.
Here are 8 brilliant pictures from the Portobello launch.
5. They're already best-selling authors
Their new book, The Ripple Effect: A Celebration of Britain’s Brilliant Wild Swimming Communities, follows the success of Anna Deacon and Vicky Allan's previous top-selling coffee table book, Taking The Plunge, which focused on the health benefits of wild swimming. Photo: Greg Macvean
6. The ripple effect and a sense of community
Anna Deacon says she believes one of the reasons wild swimming has become so popular is the feeling of being part of a community, the sense of belonging and a common purpose. And she says the "ripple effect" has spread out to the friends and family of those in the groups and even the wider community. Photo: Greg Macvean
7. It's good for your mental health
Wild swimming is said to be good for your mental health. And the weekend dip to launch the new book also raised money for Mental Health Swims, the UK-wide mental health peer support community. Photo: Greg Macvean
8. It's all in here
The book looks at what makes swimming groups tick and features a wide variety of stories from male mental health support to menopausal solidarity and from alcohol recovery to skinny dipping. The Ripple Effect: A Celebration of Britain's Brilliant Wild Swimming Communities, by Anna Deacon and Vicky Allan, is out now, published in hardback by Black & White Publishing at £20. Photo: Greg Macvean