Down By The Cool of The Tidal Pool A Rite of Passage

Abstract

Being an avid wild swimmer, this ethnographic project brought six months of participant observation and autoethnographic reflection at Cellardyke Tidal Pool to life. In examining wild swimming as a rite of passage, the narrative follows three recurring phases – arrival, immersion (“the dook”), and post-swimming community (“the circle”) – to explore liminality, incorporation and hierarchy. Drawing on theories of ritual (Gennep), liminality (Turner), and grid/group analysis (Douglas), the study demonstrates how leisure practices reproduce social structures while offering spaces for resistance and renewal. Ultimately, wild swimming emerges as both a personal and collective ritual, intertwining physical sensation, emotional connection, and cultural meaning.