Swimming with the Viking of Skye

A true story of overcoming fear and finding hope for the future

Richard Waters

• Publisher: Aurum
• Year: 2025
• Print ISBN:
  9780711291904
  9780711291898
• eBook ISBN:
  9780711291911
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Science Biographies
• Index: Social Sciences

‘A beautifully written book full of life lessons by an inspiring human being.’ – Christian Lewis.  

'A stirring story of one man's attempts through cold swimming to stand up to Parkinson’s Disease, an illness that also has its teeth in me. And as he plunged into each freezing loch and burr, I was right there with him.' – Sir Ranulph Fiennes
 
Discover one man’s journey to cold water swimming, and the triumph of the human spirit in the face of adversity.  
 
When Rich Waters was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s and soon after learned his young daughter faced a devastating neurological condition, his world narrowed overnight. Searching for something that could steady him, he found himself drawn to the raw landscape and icy pools of the Isle of Skye in Scotland, where cold water offered a rare kind of quiet.  
 
What began as a desperate attempt to cope grew into a vital source of meaning. Each plunge helped Rich feel present again, opening a connection to the natural world that softened fear and brought him moments of clarity. The water didn’t erase the challenges he faced, but it gave him a place where his mind could settle and his spirit could rise. 
 
With the guidance of Matt Rhodes, the ‘Viking of Skye’, Rich discovered a rhythm that helped him navigate the uncertainty of illness. Swimming with the Viking of Skye follows his journey through these wild places and the steadying effect they had on his life. 
 
This memoir captures the story of a man learning to live within a changed reality, a father devoted to his daughter, and the quiet power of nature to help us endure what once felt impossible—offering us a vital reminder that strength and hope can still be found, even in the hardest moments.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Contents
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Chapter 1. Double Diagnosis
• Chapter 2. Finding My Inner Viking
• Chapter 3. The Climb to Coire Lagan – How to Win an Argument with Yourself
• Chapter 4. Sea Cave of Flodigarry – Catastrophising
• Chapter 5. Rha Falls – Mid-Life Crisis
• Chapter 6. Fairy Glen – Reconnecting
• Chapter 7. The Marble Pools – Balancing Your Inner and Outer World
• Chapter 8. Loch Shianta, The Healing Pool – Be Done with Self-Loathing
• Chapter 9. Lookout Point – Time
• Chapter 10. Camasunary Bay – Digging Deep
• Chapter 11. Loch Coruisk – It’s the Journey that Matters
• Chapter 12. Joining Up the Dots
• Chapter 13. Echo Lake (Loch Sneosdal) – Quit While You’re Ahead
• Chapter 14. Canadian Death Lake – Facing Fear
• Chapter 15. Finding Hope for the Future
• Epilogue
• Author’s Note
• About the Author
• Copyright