Arthur Michell Ransome was an English author and journalist. He is best known for writing and illustrating the Swallows and Amazons series of children's books about the school-holiday adventures of children, mostly in the Lake District and the Norfolk Broads. The books remain popular and Swallows and Amazons is the basis for a tourist industry around Windermere and Coniston Water, the two lakes Ransome adapted as his fictional North Country lake.
The Swallows and Amazons series of twelve children's adventure novels by English author Arthur Ransome. The series, set in the interwar period, involve group adventures by children, mainly in the school holidays and mainly in England. They revolve around outdoor activities, especially sailing. Literary critic Peter Hunt believes it "changed British literature, affected a whole generation's view of holidays, helped to create the national image of the English Lake District and added Arthur Ransome's name to the select list of classic British children's authors." The series remains popular and inspires visits to the Lake District and Norfolk Broads, where many of the books are set. There are several societies for studying and promoting Ransome's work, notably this series. The earliest was the Arthur Ransome Club in Japan. The British-based Arthur Ransome Society has an international membership.
Coniston Water in the English county of Cumbria is the third-largest lake in the Lake District by volume, and the fifth-largest by area. It is five miles long by half a mile wide, has a maximum depth of 184 feet (56 m), and covers an area of 1.89 square miles (4.9 km2). The lake has an elevation of 143 feet (44 m) above sea level. It drains to the sea via the River Crake.
The Old Man of Coniston is a fell in the Furness Fells in the Cumbria, English Lake District and is the highest point of the historic county of Lancashire. It is at least 2,632.61 feet (802.42 m) high, and lies to the west of the village of Coniston and the lake, Coniston Water. The fell is sometimes known by the alternative name of Coniston Old Man, or simply The Old Man. The mountain is popular with tourists and fell-walkers with a number of well-marked paths to the summit. The mountain has also seen extensive copper and slate mining activity for eight hundred years and the remains of abandoned mines and spoil tips are a significant feature of the north-east slopes. There are also several flocks of sheep that are grazed on the mountain.
The River Crake is a short river in the English Lake District. The name probably derives from the Celtic languages and means rocky stream. The river drains Coniston Water from its southernmost point and flows for about 6 miles (9.5 km) in a southerly direction before joining the upper estuary of the River Leven at Greenodd. The river is in the historic county of Lancashire, but in an area that formed part of the county Cumbria after the 1974 reorganisation of local government.
Hawkshead is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England, which attracts tourists to the South Lakeland area. The parish includes the hamlets of Hawkshead Hill, 1.2 miles (1.9 km) to the north west, and Outgate, a similar distance north. Hawkshead contains one primary school but no secondary school and four public houses.
Coniston is a village and civil parish in the Furness region of Cumbria, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,058, decreasing at the 2011 census to 928. Historically part of Lancashire, it is in the southern part of the Lake District National Park, between Coniston Water, the third longest lake in the Lake District, and Coniston Old Man.
William Gershom Collingwood was an English author, artist, antiquary and professor of Fine Arts at University College, Reading. A long-term resident of Coniston, Cumbria, he was President of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian Society and the Lake Artists' Society.
Swallowdale is a children's adventure novel by English author Arthur Ransome and first published by Jonathan Cape in 1931. The book features Walker siblings (Swallows) and Blackett sisters (Amazons) camping in the hills and moorland country around a lake; with Maria Turner, the Blacketts' Great Aunt, acting as an antagonist. It is the second book in the Swallows and Amazons series; preceded by Swallows and Amazons and followed by Peter Duck.
Swallows and Amazons is a children's adventure novel by English author Arthur Ransome and first published on 21 July 1930 by Jonathan Cape. Set in the summer of 1929 in the Lake District, the book introduces the main characters of John, Susan, Titty and Roger Walker (Swallows); as well as their mother, Mary; and their baby sister, Bridget. We also meet Nancy and Peggy Blackett (Amazons); their uncle Jim, commonly referred to as Captain Flint; and their widowed mother, Molly Blackett. It is the first book in the Swallows and Amazons series, followed by Swallowdale.
Peel Island is one of the three islands of Coniston Water in the English Lake District, Cumbria. The two others are Fir Island and Oak Island. It is most famous for being one of the inspirations for Arthur Ransome's Wild Cat Island. Today, it is a popular tourist destination, and belongs to the National Trust.
The steam yacht Gondola is a rebuilt Victorian, screw-propelled, steam-powered passenger vessel on Coniston Water, England. Originally launched in 1859, she was built for the steamer service carrying passengers from the Furness Railway and from the Coniston Railway. She was in commercial service until 1936 when she was retired, being converted to a houseboat in 1946. In 1979, by now derelict, she was given a new hull, engine, boiler and most of the superstructure. She is back in service as a passenger boat, still powered by steam and now operated by the National Trust.
The Ruskin Museum is a small local museum in Coniston, Cumbria, northern England.
Nancy Blackett is a fictional character in nine of the twelve juvenile novels in Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of books. She acts as captain of the dinghy, Amazon and usually directing her friends in their various adventures. Nancy apparently has no real-world counterpart as an inspirational source for Ransome but appears to be completely the author's creation. Nancy is sometimes critically viewed as a subversive character for girl readers. The character appeared in a 1963 BBC television adaptation of Swallows and Amazons as well as in the 1974 and 2016 film adaptations of the book.
Colton is a village and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 765, decreasing at the 2011 census to 672. It was historically part of Lancashire. Its name has been recorded as Coleton and Coulton, and its existence has been recorded as early as 1202.
Holy Trinity Church is located to the east of the village of Colton, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Furness, the archdeaconry of Westmorland and Furness, and the diocese of Carlisle. Its benefice has been united with those of St Andrew, Coniston, St Luke, Torver, St Mary the Virgin, Egton-cum-Newland, and St Luke, Lowick. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
Rusland is a village in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. It is located just to the southwest of Crosslands in the civil parish of Colton.
Swallows and Amazons is a 1963 BBC children's television series based on the 1930 novel of the same name by Arthur Ransome, about the holiday adventures of two groups of children, the Swallows (Walkers) and the Amazons (Blacketts), sailing on a lake and camping on an island in the Lake District in the 1930s.
Colton is a civil parish in the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England. It contains 44 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, three are listed at Grade II*, the middle of the three grades, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. The parish is in the Lake District National Park and is located between Windermere and Coniston Water. It is mainly rural, and the villages and settlements include Colton, Colthouse, Finsthwaite, Lakeside, Oxen Park, Nibthwaite, Bouth, Rusland, Newby Bridge, and Greenodd. Many of the listed buildings are houses and associated structures, farmhouses and farm buildings. The other listed buildings include churches and structures in or near the churchyard, bridges, a potash kiln, a former bobbin mill, three milestones, two memorials, and a hotel.
