On holiday with their mother in the Lake District in 1929 four children are allowed to sail over to the nearby island in their boat Swallow and set up camp for a few days. They soon realise this has been the territory of two other girls who sail the Amazon, and the scene is set for serious rivalry. This is the scene where the Swallows meet the Amazons.
Thinking back to a distant era (1929) of stuff upper lip behavior (‘grin and smile’ no matter how much it rains!). Swallows and Amazons is a British classic summer holiday film set on Lake Windermere. Our family began spending summers on the shores of England’s longest lake, coincidentally we relocated permanently very near to Windermere.
Based on the 1st book in a series of novels by Arthur Ransome: On holiday with their mother in the Lake District in 1929 four children are allowed to sail over to the nearby island in their boat Swallow and set up camp for a few days. They soon realize this has been the territory of two other girls who sail the Amazon, and the scene is set for serious rivalry.
Today, Arthur Ransome is perhaps best known for his Swallows and Amazons series of novels, published (1930 – 1947). All remain in print and have been widely translated. Five novels are set in the Lake District, two on the Norfolk Broads and two more on the East Coast of England, around Pin Mill on the River Orwell, Harwich Harbour and the Walton Backwaters. These latter novels feature his own favourite yacht, Nancy Blackett, named after one of the series’ main fictional characters. The remaining three novels are set in the Caribbean, China and the Outer Hebrides.