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 skating ability. The Callums are the link to a different location and another set of characters. Following their appearance in "Winter Holiday", they appear in two following books set in the Norfolk Broads, where they meet the Coot Club: Tom Dudgeon; the twins, Port and Starboard; and Bill, Joe & Pete the three sons of boatbuilders: the "Death and Glories". With a couple of exceptions, the exact ages of the characters are never established. In the first book they run from Roger, at 7 years old, to about 12 to 14 (John and Nancy). All characters age as the series