What does it mean to gather data not just about people, but with them – in motion, in water, in real time?
This July marked the start of my PhD fieldwork, exploring how people with visual impairments experience, access, and connect with blue space. Working closely with blind and partially sighted swimmers, I’ve begun a series of swim-along interviews across the UK, collecting stories not in sterile rooms, but in open water.
Each space offered something different. Some participants trained. Others floated quietly, reuniting with the water after years away. Many described swimming as a place to feel less blind, less watched, more free.
The swim-alongs are about co-creation. We swim together. We talk. And the water holds it all. My role isn’t just to observe, but to be present – to understand access not only as infrastructure, but as rhythm, guidance, care, and trust.
As one swimmer shared:
“All it takes is someone next to you saying ‘left’ or ‘right’ — and suddenly, you belong in the space.”
This fieldwork isn’t just producing data. It’s producing relationships. Shared knowledge. Actionable insight. It’s shaping conversations about what inclusive blue space truly looks and feels like…. beyond the visual, beyond design defaults.
I’m so grateful to everyone sharing time, space, and voice with this project. Fieldwork is afloat and I can’t wait to see where it swims next.
