In my role as President of The Arthur Ransome Society, I was interviewed by Chris Opperman for a new documentary produced by David Webb on the Walton Backwaters, known by Arthur Ransome enthusiasts as ‘Secret Water’.
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The 75 min DVD entitled ‘Walton’s Secret Backwaters’ is compatible with all DVD players displaying the DVD Video & PAL logo. It can be purchased online here
Chris Opperman, who chatted to me at the Royal Harwich Yacht Club on the Orwell, has sailed in the area for years. After a career in newspapers, he produced programmes for Radio 4 and the World Service before presenting the breakfast News and countryside documentaries on BBC Radio Suffolk.
As President of The Arthur Ransome Society, I represent the 1,000 or so members of the literary society devoted to the Swallows and Amazons books, including those set in East Anglia. There is usually a lot of flag flying since many members also sail. Swallow, the dinghy used in the original film ‘Swallows and Amazons’ has taken part in Swamazons events on the Walton Backwaters since she was renovated in 2011.
We celebrated the fact that Arthur Ransome’s book ‘Secret Water’ was published eighty years ago at the Essex Book Festival when I was joined by authors Julia Jones and Peter Willis in Harwich on Sunday 3rd March.
I signed copies of ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons (1974)’ afterwards. It was great to see it featured in the DVD.
Sophie Neville 
I have just purchased this DVD and can’t wait to watch it. I know Athur Ransome’s ‘Secret Water’ and I knew the area reasonably well; so the DVD should be very interesting and bring back some memories for me.
That’s great! I hope you enjoy it.