Swallows and Amazons characters in Arthur Ransome books According to Ransome, every place in his book can be found in the Lake District, but he took different locations and placed them in different ways: the lake is a fictionalised version of Windermere but the surrounding countryside more closely resembles that around Coniston. Wild Cat Island, the location of the island camp, has elements from Peel Island in Coniston and Blake Holme (or Blakeholme) in Windermere. Holly Howe, the farmhouse where the Swallows stay, is based on Bank Ground Farm, which exists to this day. It was featured in the 1974 film. Reviewing the
Swallows and Amazons series seaman", is the most imaginative member of the crew. She often imagines her own adventures and becomes a hero in the novels, such as when she wins the war in "Swallows and Amazons" or finds an underground spring in "Pigeon Post". Roger is the youngest, originally the ship's boy, but promoted to able seaman in later books. Their youngest sister Bridget (originally nicknamed "Vicky" due to a resemblance to pictures of Queen Victoria in old age; the nickname is dropped in later books as she loses the resemblance when she grows older) also joins the crew in "Secret Water". Roger