Roger Deakin

[1][3] In 1968, he bought Walnut Tree Farm, a semi-ruined Elizabethan moated, wood-beamed farmhouse on the edge of Mellis Common in Suffolk, near Diss, which he rebuilt and developed over many years and where he lived until his death.

He dredged the moat, where he swam daily, planted woodland and bought more of the surrounding fields, where he grew hay and wild flowers.

[1] His archive has been given to the University of East Anglia, including writings on ancient trees, along with film banks, photographs, journals and Deakin's swimming trunks.

He also made several television documentary films covering subjects as diverse as rock music, Essex, Hank Wangford, allotments and the world of horse racing.

[2] Inspired in part by the short story The Swimmer by John Cheever,[5] it describes his experiences of 'wild swimming' in Britain's rivers and lakes and advocates open access to the countryside and waterways.

The book also inspired a one-hour BBC Four documentary film Wild Swimming, in August 2010, presented by the anthropologist Alice Roberts.

It describes a series of journeys across the globe that Deakin made to meet people whose lives are intimately connected to trees and wood.

Alison Hastie and Terence Blacker, Suffolk critic and novelist, co-edited a collection of writing taken from Deakin's personal notebooks, largely focused on the wildlife and ecology of the area around his farmhouse.