There was no rush to leave the site this morning and so we took Hamish for an extra walk to the lake. The water level had dropped since we’d been here and so we could walk out ‘into the lake’ without getting our feet wet …
Basically today is our Swallows and Amazons day and so we set off for Coniston Water once again as we’d booked the cruise with Coniston Launches. We arrived, parked up and had an early lunch as picnics weren’t allowed on the launch and the trip began at 12.55pm. We were a little early to the waterside and saw the Gondola steam off …
We walked down the jetty and were met by a chap with a pirate bandana on his head – very S&A! We left the jetty …
and a commentary was given to us by 'bandana man' ...
We began the trip by moving over to the far side of the lake where the house Lanehead was situated …
This house is one of the possible Beckfoots and it belonged to the Collingwood family, friends of Arthur’s and whose daughter Dora married Ernest Altounyan. The children from this marriage became the inspiration for the Swallows – John, Susan, Titty and Roger. The next house we saw was Bank Ground Farm which became Holly Howe in the stories with the field down to the water where Roger ‘tacked’ with the telegram from his father …
The boathouse on the left has a dinghy in it called Swallow ...
This is the house that the Ransomes lived in during the war …
This island had many cormorants living on it which gave Arthur his inspiration for Cormorant Island …
Hamish was enjoying his day out …
and while we made our way to the far end of the lake there was instruction for those who wanted to learn how to do knots …
We were by now reaching the most exciting part of the lake with Wild Cat Island …
We couldn’t go too close for fear of running aground but could quite clearly see the secret harbour …
This was Houseboat Bay …
This is the house used in the film for Beckfoot where Nancy was cleaning the bottom of the boat Amazon …
and the boathouse …
Horseshoe Cove …
Swainson’s Farm which had the Knickerbocker Breaker behind it …
and another boathouse …
The entrance to the River Amazon which had Octopus Lagoon beyond it …
Unfortunately once again we couldn’t go to the lagoon as it was too shallow. The Old Man of Coniston was used as Kanchenjunga and the range to the right of it were the High Tops …
Another possible house for Beckfoot where Nancy and Peggy lived …
The charcoal burners would have been working in the woods here …
And all too soon we were back at the jetty – a two hour trip which was so full of information and humour. It was a lovely little launch and we highly recommend the cruise for any Ransome fans.
Of course Coniston Water is also famous for someone else – Donald Campbell …
We made our way back to camp still buzzing with all the names and places we’d seen and saying how lucky we’d been to have blue skies and sunshine. We’d no sooner parked up when the heavens opened and then after the rain the sky became very dramatic …
The perfect end to a perfect day – our last in the Lake District. Tomorrow we’re off to Northumberland.
Basically today is our Swallows and Amazons day and so we set off for Coniston Water once again as we’d booked the cruise with Coniston Launches. We arrived, parked up and had an early lunch as picnics weren’t allowed on the launch and the trip began at 12.55pm. We were a little early to the waterside and saw the Gondola steam off …
We walked down the jetty and were met by a chap with a pirate bandana on his head – very S&A! We left the jetty …
and a commentary was given to us by 'bandana man' ...
We began the trip by moving over to the far side of the lake where the house Lanehead was situated …
This house is one of the possible Beckfoots and it belonged to the Collingwood family, friends of Arthur’s and whose daughter Dora married Ernest Altounyan. The children from this marriage became the inspiration for the Swallows – John, Susan, Titty and Roger. The next house we saw was Bank Ground Farm which became Holly Howe in the stories with the field down to the water where Roger ‘tacked’ with the telegram from his father …
The boathouse on the left has a dinghy in it called Swallow ...
This is the house that the Ransomes lived in during the war …
This island had many cormorants living on it which gave Arthur his inspiration for Cormorant Island …
Hamish was enjoying his day out …
and while we made our way to the far end of the lake there was instruction for those who wanted to learn how to do knots …
We were by now reaching the most exciting part of the lake with Wild Cat Island …
We couldn’t go too close for fear of running aground but could quite clearly see the secret harbour …
This was Houseboat Bay …
This is the house used in the film for Beckfoot where Nancy was cleaning the bottom of the boat Amazon …
and the boathouse …
Horseshoe Cove …
Swainson’s Farm which had the Knickerbocker Breaker behind it …
and another boathouse …
The entrance to the River Amazon which had Octopus Lagoon beyond it …
Unfortunately once again we couldn’t go to the lagoon as it was too shallow. The Old Man of Coniston was used as Kanchenjunga and the range to the right of it were the High Tops …
Another possible house for Beckfoot where Nancy and Peggy lived …
The charcoal burners would have been working in the woods here …
And all too soon we were back at the jetty – a two hour trip which was so full of information and humour. It was a lovely little launch and we highly recommend the cruise for any Ransome fans.
Of course Coniston Water is also famous for someone else – Donald Campbell …
We made our way back to camp still buzzing with all the names and places we’d seen and saying how lucky we’d been to have blue skies and sunshine. We’d no sooner parked up when the heavens opened and then after the rain the sky became very dramatic …
The perfect end to a perfect day – our last in the Lake District. Tomorrow we’re off to Northumberland.
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