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 Ronald Fraser. In 1984, the BBC adapted the two Norfolk-set stories, "Coot Club" and "The Big Six", for television, titled "Swallows and Amazons Forever!" In 2010, a stage musical version of the first book in the series was created at Bristol Old Vic, adapted by Helen Edmundson with music by Neil Hannon, and directed by Tom Morris. The show was successful, and was taken on tour, including a stint in London's West End. A new film version of "Swallows and Amazons" by Harbour Pictures and BBC Films was released in the United Kingdom on 19 August 2016. Swallows and Amazons