Ella Foote

Ella Foote is an author and editor whose work explores the intersections of water, identity and the body. She is Editor at Outdoor Swimmer Magazine and Director of Dip Advisor, but her writing reaches beyond the shoreline into questions of wellbeing, environment and how we inhabit our bodies over time.

Her first book, How to Wild Swim: What to Know Before Taking the Plunge (DK, 2023), established her as a leading voice in outdoor swimming. She has also contributed to books including Toes in the Water and Take Me to the River, and writes widely for national and international publications.

Her journalism has appeared in The Guardian, The Times, Stylist, The Simple Things and Countryfile, among others. Her work often explores swimming as a lens through which to consider mental health, body image and our relationship with the natural world. She has appeared on podcasts, contributed to television programmes and collaborated on a range of editorial and book projects.

She is currently working on a narrative non-fiction book tracing a decade of life in and out of a swimsuit, using water as a thread through changing identities, seasons and selves.

She swims year-round in rivers, lakes and seas across the UK, an ongoing practice that continues to shape both her life and her writing.