outdoor pursuits – Page 6

Amazons in Ambleside at a Rushbearing Festival on 7th July 1973

Kit Seymour, Lesley Bennett and Sophie Neville at the Ambleside Rushbearing Festival in July 1973 — Kit Seymour, Lesley Bennett and Sophie Neville at the Ambleside Rushbearing Festival on 7th July 1973 ~ photo: Daphne Neville

The filming of Swallows and Amazons was coming to a close but what with all the buckets of water being flung about the day before, Mummy had lost Lesley’s ring. It was a gold ring. Since it would not have been appropriate for an Amazon Pirate of 1929, Lesley couldn’t wear it with her costume. Mum slid it onto her little finger to keep it safe for her. It slid off. We looked and looked, but couldn’t find it anywhere.

And what with all the nocturnal pushings-in, Graham Ford our production manager, had broken his ankle. Although we were up and about on the morning of 7th July, it became clear that the entire film crew were comatose after the wrap party held at the Langdale Chase Hotel. There was certainly no sign of the director. Since it was also raining, an unexpected day off from filming was called.

Instead of heading for Derwentwater we went exploring the Lake District – in different ways. I made a discovery about Rio, or at least the origin of its name.

It seemed normal to have lunch at the Waterhead Hotel. It would be a great treat now. We split up into two groups for the afternoon, which is how I came to explore Rio with the Amazon pirates.

It was very kind of Gareth and Jean to give us presents. I wonder what happened to the pendant with the cross? It would be the height of fashion now. I remember Jean explaining that she wanted to give us a little bit of the Lake District to take home. This came in the form of a bedside lamp made out of a chunk of slate. Mine soon had a pink shade on top. I used it for years.

The Ambelside Rushbearing Parade in 1973 ~ photo: Daphne Neville

The Ambleside Rushbearing Parade was amazing. I can see exactly why Arthur Ransome thought of Rio as the town on Titty’s chart. The festival was like a colourful Rio carnival. Crowds came out to watch as the procession came down the hill. If you click on the snapshot Mum took above, you will find photographs of what it must have looked like when Ransome was a boy and everyone was out in their best hats as they walked down to St Mary’s Church, accompanied by a brass band.

Again, if you click on the shot above, you will find details of what happens today. The wonderful photographs on the Visit Cumbria site show rushbearing ceremonies are held on saint’s days at different churches in Cumbria throughout the summer.

Traditionally, the children of Ambleside are given a piece of homemade gingerbread if they have carried one of the rushes. We hadn’t done this but we did join in with the hymn and the kind neighbours living next door to the Oakland Guesthouse gave us some gingerbread for tea.

St Mary's Church Ambleside Rush Bearers' Hymn — This leaflet was indeed ‘retained’, pasted into my scrapbook

We met the Price family at the festival. The two girls where both carrying dressed reeds. You may recognise Mr Price. He appeared in Swallows and Amazons as the Native who came up to Roger at the jetty in Rio and said, ‘That’s a nice little boat you have there.’ Roger said, ‘Yes.’

The Price Family of Oaklands Guest House in Ambleside, Cumbria — Mr Price who played the part of the Native in Rio with his family in Ambleside. They ran Oakland’s Guesthouse where we stayed for 9 weeks ~ photo: Daphne Neville

Mrs Price must have worked so hard. She had three children ~ a little boy as well as the girls ~ and a number of students from the Charlotte Mason College of Education staying at “Oaklands” guesthouse while cooking our breakfast and high tea. The telephone in the hall must have rung the whole time. Her number was Ambleside 2170.

I expect the demands of the filming, what with drivers coming and going, was a little more that she had originally imagined. No one knew what would be happening next. Although most of the crew were leaving ~ going ‘away from Rio’ ~ we knew we had to be back on location the next day.

Here is a snippet of footage Mum took of the festival. Blink and you’ll miss me ~

Walking the Plank – The Battle of Houseboat Bay, ending the original movie ‘Swallows and Amazons’ as recorded in my diary on 5th July 1973

Filming on location in Cumbria fifty years ago.

Our designer Simon Holland was rowing Swallow without his shirt. Producer Richard Pilbrow was hanging on the side of the houseboat clad in denim. Terry Smith, the wardrobe Master, was busy drying off Ronald Fraser’s wet costume on the aft deck. The white pith helmet was being touched up by the unit painter. Unions must have been strict back then.

Ronald Fraser with Sophie Neville, Kit Seymour, Simon West, Suzanna Hamilton and Lesley Bennett — The original film Swallows and Amazons (1974)

Director Claude Whatham was making the most of the rare but glorious Lake District weather to complete the scene on the foredeck of the houseboat. The Swallows, the Amazons and their Uncle Jim, who had just been made to walk the plank and was now dripping wet, waited patiently while I delivered Titty’s immortal line: ‘Captain Flint – we’ve got a surprise for you.’ Not quite the same as in Arthur Ransome’s book but it worked well.

War cries from everyone…

Kit Seymour, who was playing Nancy, must have dropped on top of us all.

The cabin of the houseboat had been turned into a dressing room for Ronald Fraser.

A long day’s filming out on the lake.

My mother took a series of photographs showing how the crew managed in the limited space:

Battle of Houseboat Bay ~ The film director and camera crew afloat — Director Claude Whatham in blue denim talks to DoP Denis Lewiston. Terry Needham stands on deck ~ Photo: Daphne Neville

The 16mm camera in the grey punt.

Battle of Houseboat Bay ~ The film crew afloat — The film crew with Director Claude Whatham talking to Simon West, Leseley Bennett, Ronald Fraser and Stephen Grendon on the foredeck ~ photo: Daphne Neville

I think the chap in the swimming trunks is a boatman from Keswick. Does anyone recognise him?

http://www.amazon.com/Swallows-Amazons-Region-Dinah-Sheridan/dp/B00008IARQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1344950585&sr=8-4&keywords=Swallows+and+Amazons+DVD — DoP Denis Lewiston with his assistant camerman, Sue Merry in black Claude Whatham and the film cast ~ photo: Daphne Neville

The 16mm camera was noisy. This would have been the shot taken when I said we just went through the movements.

Battle of Houseboat Bay ~ The film crew5 — Molly Pilbrow in the plaid jacket with the cast and crew on the houseboat ~ photo: Daphne Neville who was acting as chaperone.

And all the time Molly Pilbrow was keeping an eye on the script. I don’t think there was any room for Graham Ford. He was looking after the base camp:

Graham Ford in Derwentwater — Production Manager Graham Ford in Derwent Water: photo ~ Daphne Neville

It had been a productive day; a battle well fought, the treasure returned.

You can read the full story in ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons (1974)’ available from The Nancy Blackett shop.

the-making-of-swallows-and-amazons-audiobook-cover

and on Kindle here:

Being a cormorant ~ filming more swimming scenes for Swallows and Amazons on 4th July 1973

bw Susan teaching Roger to Swim — Sten Gredon as Roger Walker being taught to swim by Suzanna Hamilton playing his sister Susan Walker on location at Peel Island on Coniston in 1973

Roger still couldn’t swim, but he was trying to. Very hard. The production manager had kindly scheduled the second of our swimming scenes as late in the summer as possible. The weather was warmer – we’d elected to go bathing in a river up near Rydal Water on our day off – but it was still pretty chilly out on Coniston.

swa_bw_neg_ 045

Whilst we tried to acclimatise by running around in our swimming costumes the crew were all in their thick coats as you can see from this home movie footage shot by my mother. We had bought her 8mm camera by saving up Green Shield stamps. (Can you remember collecting Green Shield stamps from petrol stations? They were an icon of the early 1970s all by themselves.) I remember someone on the crew calling out ‘Second unit!’ as Mum lifted what looked like a grey and white toy to her face. It was a bit noisy so she was not able to record during a take. You only see us before and after the sequences in the film, but her footage shows quite a few of the members of the crew – all smoking away, even when they were trying to warm us up after each sequence. You can watch Jean McGill, from Cumbria, our unit nurse who was dressed in red, popping Dextrose into our mouths and giving us hot drinks to warm us up. Jean made Gareth Tandy, the third assistant, who was aged about 18, wear a sun hat because he had previously suffered from sun stroke. David Blagden can be glimpsed as the one other man with short hair.

The camera pontoon must have been left up on Derwentwater. Claude was obliged to shoot these scenes from what we called the camera punt, which was smaller but quite useful. Richard Pilbrow sent me a picture. He has included others in a book that he has written about his career, including a section on the making of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ called ‘A Theatre Project’

Claude Whatham and his crew on the camera punt — First assistant David Bracknell, director Claude Whatham, grip David Cadwallader and DoP Dennis Lewiston (seated) with three local boatmen ~ photo: Richard Pilbrow

Do please let me know if you can tell me the names of the three Cumbrian boatmen featured in this photograph who helped us. Others are featured in the home-movie footage. They all look like pirates. Real ones.

Goodness knows that Health and Safety would say about that punt today. The DoP managed to get two sizeable electric lights, on stands, into a boat already overloaded with personnel and expensive equipment. You can see for yourself. Were these ‘Filler’ lights powered by portable batteries? The Lee Electric generator was on the shore. I was in the water. Busy being a cormorant.

We had an interesting afternoon filming with both dinghies. At one point we had the camera with us in Swallow. I found these photographs of us on the internet.

Titty John and Susan on the voyage — Sophie Neville, Simon West and Suzanna Hamilton

I was given the honour of clapping the clapper-board and calling out, ‘Shot 600, Take one!’ for a close-up of Suzanna Hamilton.

Suzanna Hamilton as Susan Walker sailing Swallow on Coniston Water in 1973

‘The worse possible kinds of natives’… Tourists were beginning to arrive for their summer holidays in the Lake District and we still had quite a bit more to film.

BW Voyage to the island — Sophie Neville, Suzanna Hamilton and Simon West sailing Swallow in 1973

You can read more about the adventures we had making the original film of Swallows and Amazons here:

‘They’re Pirates!’ ~ secrets of filming Swallows and Amazons on 3rd July 1973

Captian Flint on the houseboat with Swallow — Ronald Fraser as Captain Flint on his houseboat with Stephen Grendon, Sophie Neville, Suzanna Hamilton and Simon West in Swallow on Derwentwater, 1973

It was found on e-bay and brought to Coniston Water when we re-launched Swallow at the Bluebird Cafe in 2011. Everyone was fascinated. I’d never seen this hand-coloured print used to publicise the movie in cinema foyers, but it has memories of a good day, spent not on Coniston but further north on Derwentwater.

The movie Swallows and Amazons (1974) Swallow sailing past the houseboat — Swallow sailing past the houseboat on Derwentwater

When Richard Pilbrow’s movie of Swallows and Amazons was first shown on British television in 1977, ITV made a trailer to advertise it. This started with the shot of me saying, ‘They’re pirates!’ People loved it. Everyone was going around saying, ‘They’re pirates!’

If it was my best performance it was because I had been lying on a red ant’s nest – and they stung us.

The other secret is that that lighthouse tree in this shot is not a tree. Not one that was growing. It was a big log that Bobby Props had stuck in the ground making the ants very angry indeed.

Sophie Neville as Titty Walker in Swallows and Amazons — Sophie Neville as Titty Walker in the ITV trailer for the movie of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ when it was first shown on television in 1977

This was the second location that we used for ‘Lookout Point on Wild Cat Island’. It was on a promontory that overlooks the bay where the houseboat was moored on Derwentwater. There were bushes but no sadly big pine trees. The log was planted so that our director Claude Whatham could get what is called a two-shot of the Swallows watching Nancy sail past Captain Flint’s houseboat, while Peggy raises the skull and crossbones. As we were keeping low the height of the lighthouse tree was not an issue.

The Swallows at the Lighthouse tree Lookout point — Simon West, Suzanna Hamilton, Sophie Neville and Stephen Grendon as the Swallows at the Lookout Point on Wild Cat Island

Just prior to this scene when we spot the Amazons for the first time, I was working on the chart while Susan was sewing a button onto Roger’s shirt. The needle stuck into him as he flung himself down on the grass beneath the lighthouse tree.

Roger and Susan at the camp site — Stephen Grendon as Roger having a button sewn back on by Suzanna Hamilton playing Susan Walker in the previous scene.

Since needles are small you can hardly see what is happening but I think it is a detail that Arthur Ransome would have appreciated. I wonder if the same sort of thing had happened to him as a child? He used his memories of Annie Swainson throwing boys across her lap to darn their knickerbockers whilst they remained on him, just as Mary Swainson frequently darns Roger’s shorts after sliding down the Knickerbockerbreaker rockface in Swallowdale. Claire Kendall-Price describes this and where it all happened beautifully.

Here is the diary entry I kept for that day in the Lake District ~

Suzanna’s diary is more succinct ~

I don’t know why she felt depressed. Perhaps it was the ants. She was on more of them than me and they were not waving. They were very angry.

So, the secret of Wild Cat Island is that the lighthouse tree sequences were shot in two different places. Although we were mainly on Peel Island on Coniston Water, Rampsholme, an island on Derwentwater is depicted in the opening titles. This is faithful in that Arthur Ransome annotated postcards to show that wanted this view and the fells beyond as a backdrop for his story. In her book, In the footsteps of the ‘Swallows and Amazons’, Claire Kendall-Price provides a wonderful map and guide showing how you can walk from Keswick to find some of the locations.

We didn’t use the island known as Blake Holme on Windermere at all even though Arthur Ransome had envisaged the camp fire as being there. Richard Pilbrow told us it had become a real camp site by 1973 with caravans on the nearest shore.

Sophie Neville with Swallow outside the Bluebird Cafe on Coniston Water — Sophie Neville in 2011 holding the original photograph in front of the newly restored dinghy at the Bluebird Cafe on Coniston Water. If you look carefully you can see that Swallow is being inspected by a modern day pirate ~ photo: Kitty Faulkner

The “They’re pirates” shot was used in the movie trailer, which you can watch on Amazon Prime here

The iconic photograph of Swallow sailing past the houseboat was used on the first edition of ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons (1974)’ which has become a collector’s item but can still be found online.

The Making of SWALLOWS & AMAZONS

The Lutterworth Press bought out an improved 2nd edition and this multi-media ebook is available everywhere for £2.99:

The lighthouse tree ~ filming ‘Swallows and Amazons’ on Derwentwater 1st July 1973

‘It would make a superb lighthouse,’ but not for a good few years yet. The Scots pine planted by The Arthur Ransome Society on the northern end of Peel Island was growing well when I last paid it homage.

Suzannah Hamilton, Stephen Grendon, Sophie Neville and Simon West above Derwentwater in 1973

I hope I don’t spoil the magic if I explain that the pine used in the 1973 film of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ is on a promontory above Derwentwater. An appropriate tree was chosen that overlooked the location we used for Houseboat Bay.

The lighthouse tree climbed by Simon West — Captain John, played by Simon West, starts to climb the lighthouse tree at the Lookout Point: Photo ~ Daphne Neville

If you can avoid being distracted by David Bracknell’s trendy two-tone trousers, you can see a bit more of the lighthouse tree location with the lake beyond. I’ve been told it is at Friar’s Crag. Can anyone find the actual tree?

The lighthouse tree with Titty hanging the lantern — Sophie Neville as Titty Walker hanging the lantern. Claude Whatham sits beside the camera crew including Eddie Collins, Dennis Lewiston and Bobby Sitwell, whilst first assistant David Bracknell looks on: photo ~ Daphne Neville

As a child reading Swallows and Amazons I was always deeply impressed that Captain John managed to climb the pine tree in Arthur Ransome’s drawing. Simon West was able to use branches but he really did climb quite high. The cameraman had a scaffold tower.

Suzanna wrote that, ‘In the late afternoon the Amazons were filming on the pontoon. Kit wasn’t feeling well.’ Lesley had recovered a bit but there was a ‘flu-like bug going around. Neither of them look that well in the resultant photograph but they survived.

Nancy and Peggy Blackett — Kit Seymour as Nancy Blackett with Lesley Bennett playing her sister Peggy Blackett in Amazon, who is still sailing today.

If you would like to read more, upload a copy of ‘The Secrets of Filming ‘Swallows and Amazons'(1976)’ for sale on Amazon Kindle and other e-readers for £2.99

Sophie will be giving illustrated talks on ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons’ at the Southampton International Boat Show in September.

Inspirational speaker, Sophie Neville — Southampton International Boat Show 2023

Octopus Lagoon ~ the trials of filming ‘Swallows and Amazons’ fifty years ago on 29th June 1973

‘The rain poured down.’ Cumbria was covered in cloud, the Lake District dark and dismal. What a nightmare for Richard Pilbrow and his production team. We were behind schedule, Lesley Bennett who played Peggy was ill in bed and we had run out of ‘rain cover’.

Sten Grendon, Simon West and Suzanna Hamilton in Swallow

There was one sequence left that could be recorded in dull weather. Today was the day Claude Whatham shot the haunting scenes of Octopus Lagoon. After finishing our school work Kit Seymour and I sat watching the filming from the sloping field above the beautiful but rather smelly lily pond.

I do not have the Call Sheet for 29th June 1973 but have an extract from this earlier one detailing the ‘Alternative Dull Weather Call’:

I can’t say whether the weather allowed for the scene set on the Amazon River to be shot. Lesley had ‘flu so they would have had to somehow manage without her. I think Claude devoted his time to capture the conundrum and challenges faced by Captain John in the lagoon.

I remember looking down on the location, which was on private property near Skelwith Fold Caravan Park – possibly Slew Tarn.

Slew Tarn, the location of octopus lagoon — Is this Slew Tran above Skelwith Fold?

Those who are interested in finding the film locations used might find this old hand-typed ‘Movement Order’ useful:

Roger Wardale sites Octopus Lagoon as being Allan Tarn a short distance up the River Crake at the Southern end of Coniston Water, near High Nibthwaite. This is the place Arthur Ransome had in mind. He spent time there with is brother and sisters as a child when they spent their summers on Swainson’s Farm at Nibthwaite nearby. His father went there to fish for pike. It you have a shallow bottomed boat you can get there but it is not exactly on a footpath. The lily pond we used was in a high sided dip, which made it appropriately dark and gloomy. It was also more accessible for the film crew.

Graham Ford, who signed the Movement Order was our Production Manager. I only have a photograph of him taken on a sunnier day.

The Production Team on 'Swallows and Amazons' in 1973 — Second Assistant Terry Needham, Associate Producer Neville C Thompson and Production Manager Graham Ford with the unit radio on a sunny day in June 1973

Graham Ford would have been responsible for the film schedule, putting together the whole logistical jigsaw puzzle posed by factors such as the availability of leading actors and locations with the movement of vehicles and boats, including the massive camera pontoon. It was Graham who took the stress of problems caused by wet weather. I guess that he also took on the responsibilities of managing the locations, negotiating with owners and the Lake District National Park, something that authors such as Arthur Ransome would not have had to face.

Graham Ford in Derwentwater

Although young, Graham was pretty experienced. He had previously worked as an assistant director on such classic films as Steptoe and Son and had been the Unit Manager on The Devils, a film that starred Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed. After Swallows he went on to work as Production Manager on S.O.S Titanic, The Honorary Consul and Princess Daisy as well as Time Bandits and Brazil directed by Terry Gilliam starring Jonathan Pryce, Kim Greist and Robert de Niro. Imagine being Terry Gilliam’s right hand man. He was a Location Manager for David Lynch on The Elephant Man and for Richard Attenborough on Ghandi in 1982. Graham’s career progressed. He produced The Nightmare Years and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court in the late 1980s before working on Gettysburg, the massive four hour long movie about the American civil war, in 1993. A life in film. He died in Ontario in 1994 aged only 48.

If you would like to read more, the story of the filming can be read in a paperback entitled ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons (1976)’ available from libraries worldwide or from online stockist and good bookshops. The Nancy Blackett Trust have signed copies available here with proceeds going to the trust. These are illustrated so cost £15 but make good presents.

‘Here we are intrepid explorers…’ filming Swallows and Amazons on Derwentwater on 28th June 1973

If you ever see a cormorant you must sing out, ‘They’ve got India-rubber necks!’

And then, if you are on a long journey you can add, ‘ Cormorants. We must be near the coast of China. The Chinese have cormorants. They train them to catch fish for them. Daddy sent me a picture.’

The Swallows voyage to Wild Cat Island — Sophie Neville, Suzanna Hamilton and Simon West as the Walker children sailing to Wild Cat Island in Swallow

If you ever get lost – or the journey really is a long one, you can say,

‘Here we are intrepid explorers making the first ever voyage into unchartered waters. What mysteries will they hold for us? What dark secrets will be revealed?’

They were most complicated speeches to deliver afloat, ones I had to learn. In the end the second part was heard OOV – out of vision. I could have read the lines. But then they wouldn’t have stayed in my head forever, as they have.

The Swallows on their voyage to Wildcat Island — Stephen Grendon, Sophie Neville, Suzanna Hamilton and Simon West on the voyage to Wild Cat Island, scenes shot on Derwentwater in 1973

If, on your journey, you happen to see a man sitting in a chair writing notes you score high and can say, ‘What’s that man doing? He’s probably a retired pirate working on his devilish crimes.’

Filming Swallows and Amazons (1974) from a camera pontoon

(I’m a bit hesitant about that one because my Aunt Hermione really was approached by pirates when she was sailing round the world. The Daily Mail published her dairy chronicling the adventure; a full page double- spread with photographs no less. Rather sadly they ran headline ‘Intrepid Pensioners…’ What a swizz. She should have lied about her age and said she was 27 instead of 60. Well, perhaps 57, what with the photos.)

The scene behind the camera that day on Derwentwater was rather different from from the scene in front of it.

I got cold sailing but it was a glorious sunny day with a fair wind. We achieved a huge amount even if Cedric fell in. Some of the boatmen and crew wore life jackets, others did not – including my mother.

Sailing Swallow with the film crew on their pontoon in 1973

We wore BOAC life jackets for rehearsals but Swallow is a safe little boat – her keel ensuring we didn’t capsize if we happened to jibe and we never fell in. The pontoon was really rather more dangerous being a raft with no gunwale. Any one could have misjudged their step and plopped overboard. Luckily we were not stifled by Health and Safety in those days – only the rigorous demands of movie insurance companies.

Behind the scenes while filming Swallow from the pontoon — This shows the camera crew climbing aboard the pontoon in order to film Swallow sailing. Daphne Neville sits in the Dory safety boat in the foreground.
A reflector board, wrapped camera mount and microphone are already on board.

I’m sure we had already shot the first two scenes of the day when I was in Amazon, setting the anchor and later hearing the robbers. I expect Claude needed to re-shoot for technical reasons. Day-for-Night filming requires clear, sunny days and he would have needed still water.

John and Susan find Titty has moored the Amazon off Cormorant Island

I have some of my father’s 16mm footage showing us at around this stage in the filming. It was shot on a different day but shows us on the shores of Derwentwater, waiting around before rushing off across the lake in motor boats to finish filming before Claude lost the light. You see the pontoon and a safety boat towing Swallow, me snapping bossily at Roger to get a move-on, (unforgiveable but I was 3 years older than him and irritated to distraction), the third assistant Gareth Tandy in blue with glasses, our sound recordist Robin Gregory throwing his arms wide open, Kit Seymour and Lesley Bennett by the lake shore, David Blagden with his short hair-cut splicing rope, me in my Harry Potter-ish blue nylon track-suit top with Albert Clarke the stills photographer, Swallow and some mallard duckings.

If you are enjoying this blog, please find an expanded version of the story in the ebook, available from all online retailers such as Amazon Kindle for £2.99 and on Goodreads here It has also been published in two illustrated paperback versions, which make good presents.

'The Making of Swallows and Amazons (1974) by Sophie Neville' — Different editions of ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons (1974) by Sophie Neville’

In search of the real ‘Swallows and Amazons’ ~ Part Three

~Sophie Neville at the real Amazon boathouse~

The boathouse at the Slate Quay where Arthur Ransome came on holiday as a child sits at the southern end of Coniston Water. How wise he was to write about the places, the culture and experiences that he knew so well.

As you walk down the footpath from the lane, you come across interesting artwork, although it would not have been around in Ransome’s day.

Sophie and Mr Gormely

~ Sculpture at Slate Quay by Andy Gormsly~

The boathouse came to be owned by Bridgit Sanders, nee Altounyan, who was the inspiration for the youngest of the Swallows Vicky, the ship’s baby, and went on to become the first president of The Arthur Ransome Society. She lived with her family in the house nearby, teaching her children and grandchildren to sail on Coniston Water. After having children, Roger Altounyan rented half the house and would take them sailing in Mavis, the model for Amazon, bailing like mad.

~Coniston Water~

Arthur’s father would venture up the River Crake to fish in Allan Tarn, which may well be the location of Octopus Lagoon, first mentioned in ‘Swallows and Amazons’.

Whilst fish enjoy the reedy habitat, small boys are reputed to enjoy the ‘Knickerbockerbreaker’ rocks that rise above what must be Swainson’s Farm at High Nibthwaite, featured in Swallowdale, which you can find by the road nearby.

We pressed on in search of other places that made an impression on Ransome’s life. Although we had a very good driver this was not always as easy as one might imagine.

But I did find another representation of the crossed flags. Can anyone guess where?

~Kneeler embroidered by Jean Hopkins~

We drove through the gentle countryside south of Coniston Water passing a house called New Hall, once rented by Arthur Ransome and his wife, and on, climbing up past Gummer’s How and wiggling down to reach The Mason’s Arms, which I gather this was one of his favorite pubs.

Then, seemingly in the middle of no where, we came across the Holy Grail: Low Ludderburn and the erstwhile grey barn where Ransome wrote ‘Swallows and Amazons’. He had a writing room on the first floor. Roger Wardale says he kept his car, the ‘Rattletrap’ in the wooden garage that you can see just in front of the building. It was private then, and is a private house now, but you can catch a glimpse of it from the lane that runs up and on, eventually taking you down to Blake Holme on Windermere, which he named as partly the inspiration for Wildcat Island.

I’ve always thought that Arthur Ransome must have been completly impervious to the damp, to cold and wet weather. I am not. By now it was raining so hard that my husband was wearing my pink beret, but we were still in good spirits.

In a recent letter to The New York Times Frank Phelan from Albuquerque wrote to say,

It was not just British children who were saturated with the “Swallows and Amazons” novels of Arthur Ransome, as the review of “The Last Englishman,” by Roland Chambers, suggests (May 27). I grew up hundreds of miles from the ocean in Pittsburgh, wanting to be like Ransome’s characters. I wrote to him asking which of the English lakes was the right one. He sent me a postcard saying that it was “Windermere, with a few touches of Coniston, for the sake of disguise.” He ended with “You’ll be sailing some day!” and I lived on that.

So back to Windermere, and a long hot bath at Miller Howe, a lovely hotel that had a Jonathan Cape copy of Swallows and Amazons on the hall table. In the morning cloud was sitting on the high fells looking just like snow. I ran down to the lake to put my hands in the water, thinking, ‘This is the place for Winter Holiday’. But that is another book.

You can find maps showing these locations in ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons’ or the ebook of ‘The Secrets of Filming Swallows and Amazons (1974)’ available from Amazon Kindle and other ebook platforms.

Filming Swallows and Amazons on 22nd June 1973 when one of the camera crew cracked off Cormorant Island

Cormorant Island - Sophie Neville as Titty filming 'Swallows and Amazons' 1973 — Sophie Neville as Titty about to discover the Captain Flint’s trunk hidden on Cormorant Island ~ photo: Daphne Neville

on Derwent Water looking out to 'Cormorant Island' — Stephen Grendon on Derwent Water looking out to ‘Cormorant Island’ ~ photo: Daphne Neville

What a day!

A bright sunny day on Derwentwater. I wore what was my favourite costume, not least because I had the option of wearing a vest beneath the blouse and I didn’t have to worry about the divided skirt. I went to such an old fashioned school that I owned a pair of grey flannel culottes myself, to wear on the games field, and thought them very much the sort of thing Titty would have worn.

DOC230623-0001-038 Daphne and Hermione — My mother in a skirt with her sister wearing a divided skirt in 1953

The cotton dress and buttoned up grey cardigan were a bit crumpled by the time I dropped Amazon’s anchor off Cormortant Island.

Contact sheet - Sophie Neville with Amazon's anchor

Roger, meanwhile was in long shorts or knickerbockers as the real Altounyan children would have called them, kept up with a snake belt. His even longer underwear was an item requested by Claude Whatham the director who, being born in the 1920s himself, had worn exactly the same sort of underpants as a child. As the day warmed up Claude stripped down to a pair of navy blue tailored shorts and sailing shoes. We were on a desert island after all. Even if it was a desert island in the Lake District.

Cormorant Island on Derwentwater — Amazon moored near Cormortant Island on Derwentwater with the pontoon and safety boats. What is the real name of the island used for the location?

In Arthur Ransome’s book of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ the hunt for the treasure is slightly different and Captain Flint’s trunk lies buried under rocks. I wasn’t expecting the set-up with the tree trunk, although I think it works well and looks good, giving movement to the sequence. The only hesitation was that Claude didn’t want me to get hit by the rocks as they slid off. This was a pity as I would have jumped aside.

Long shots of sailing Swallows and Amazon on Derwentwater in 1973

I am not sure why the Amazon had not been bailed out. I can remember having to lie in the bilge water, which proved cold and uncomfortable. Perhaps it gave my performance an edge. Titty would have been cold and stiff after a night wrapped in the sail. Great grey clouds were gathering by then and we were all getting tired.

Cormorant Island3 trimmed — Sophie Neville playing Titty Walker in the captured Amazon, with David Cadwallader, Bobby Sitwell, Eddie Collins, Claude Whatham and two electricians holding reflector boards on the camera punt: Photo ~ Daphne Neville

Being together in a confined space becomes difficult to endure after while, not least when the space is a pontoon on a lake with not much to sit on. Small boys tend to muck about and become annoying when they are bored. The time had come when someone was going to crack – and they did. The result was silence. A sobering moment. And one very wet pair of knickerbockers.

Burgulars approaching Cormorant Island

In the end three of us went home in wet underwear. Gareth Tandy, the third assistant director – who I think was only about 18 – was pushed in to the lake, this time to great hilarity.

The big question, of course, it what is the name of the island on Derwentwater that we used as the location for Cormorant Island? Duncan Hall has written in to suggest it is called Lingholm Island (or possibly One Tree Island). What is the name of the larger island, seen in the background of shots, that represents Wildcat Island? Is it Rampsholme Island?

Sophie Neville on the pontoon during the filming of 'Swallows and Amazons' — The pontoon on Derwentwater with Richard Pilbrow, Bobby Sitwell, Denis Lewiston, Claude Whatham, David Cadwalader and Sophie Neville aged 12 playing Titty. Cameraman Eddie Collins looks on ~ photo: Daphne Neville

I have one behind-the-scenes clip of the crew on the pontoon – shot on a sunny day. It looks most bizarre. It was. You can see how cramped and overloaded we were and guess at the patience demanded of us all. Imagine how long it took to set up shots, while exposed to the elements. It was quite a stable raft but when we went for a take it was vital that everyone kept completely still or there would have been camera wobble. We used a conventional boat with a cabin when we filmed ‘Coot Club’ and ‘The Big Six’ on the Norfolk Broads ten years later in 1983. It proved much easier – but had more wobble.

You can read more about ‘The Making of Swallows an Amazons’ direct from the publishers.

the-making-of-swallows-and-amazons-audiobook-cover

The ebook on ‘The Secrets of Filming Swallows and Amazons (1974)’ is available on Amazon Kindle and other platforms. You can read the first section for free here:

Suzanna’s diary about filming ‘Swallows and Amazons’ on location in the Lake District in 1973

bw Susan and Titty in their tent — Suzanna Hamilton as Susan with Sophie Neville as Titty busy writing the ship’s log

Something very exciting happened last week. Suzanna Hamilton came to see me, bringing the photographs that she was given during the filming of Swallows and Amazons along with a bundle of papers. I immediately recognised the blue bound diary that she had kept. Her God-given sense of humour fills the pages.

Although Titty was the one who always kept the ship’s log in Arthur Ransome’s stories, we children all kept journals during the filming as part of our school work. It was quite a task.

Suzanna’s diary gives the story of making the film of Swallows and Amazons from the perspective of an actress, the actress she was then and ever more will be. Even before we began filming she was getting as excited as Susan about grog and molasses, calling us by our charcter names as Claude Whatham suggested.

Anna Scher ran the most wonderful children’s theatre club in Islington, which Zanna went to after school, along with Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson. I visited Anna Scher’s Theatre Club ten years later when I was casting children for the BBC drama serial of ‘Coot Club’ and ‘The Big Six’. Although I didn’t find anyone there who could sail I held Anna Scher in huge admiration and respect, using her exercises when I was auditioning kids in Norfolk. She did so much for the young people of east London, giving children confidence with self-discipline aquired during their drama lessons and workshops.

David Wood, who wrote the screenplay of Swallows and Amazons, was already well known as an actor. Mum was rather in awe of him since he had played Johnny in Z Cars and had starred the feature film ‘If…’ alongside Malcolm McDowell. He had been a storyteller on the BBC Childrens Television programme we all adored called Jackanory. Suzanna had been involved in the same series when E.Nesbit’s ‘The Treasure Seekers’ had been read. She had also appeared in ‘The Edwardians’ form the book by E.Nesbit directed by James Cellan Jones in 1972. By coincidence Pauline Quirke played Eliza in ‘The Story of the Treasure Seekers’ in 1982 and I worked with her a few years later on Rockliffe’s Babies. My mother appeared in a pantomine David Wood wrote called The Gingerbread Man when it was produced at The Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham. She wore red with a pill-box hat as Miss Ginger.