In 1999, Deakin's acclaimed book "Waterlog" was published by Chatto and Windus. Inspired in part by the short story "The Swimmer" by John Cheever, 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. The film stated that he was the source for the voice of "the swimmer" in Alice Oswald's 48-page poem "Dart", about the River Dart in Devon.