Peel Island aka Wildcat Island

Arthur Ransome has a lot to answer for. I remember first reading Swallows and Amazons in primary school at the age of 8 or 9 and being hooked from the first page. He’s largely responsible for me being like I am, along with a very influential geography teacher, George Evans (who is still with us and is well into his 90s). These two were the most formative people in my life.

So it was a pleasure today on many fronts, to do a walk billed as on the trail of Swallows and Amazons, a 7 mile loop on the fells above Coniston with views over the lake to The Old Man (Kanchenjunga in the books), Peel Island (Wildcat) and Allan Tarn which was what I took to be the Octopus Lagoon on the River Amazon. (Crake) So called owing to the tangly stems of water lilies that still fringe the tarn today.

The icing on the cake, so to speak, was to call in at the Swallows and Amazons Tearooms at Bankground Farm which was the setting of Holly Howe Farm in the 1974 film. What a wonderful location on the eastern shores of the lake looking up to the majestic Old Man, enjoying tea and scones at the end of the walk. Bankground Farm will repay further visits as in addition to the tea room, it has B&B, self catering cottages, a restaurant, farm shop, boat and bike hire. It was while sitting soaking up the view that the National Trust Gondola passed by, framed by trees and complimented by another boat in the background. (Extra)

A quick walk into Coniston saw us end the afternoon at the Yewdale Inn enjoying a pint (me) and a half (Susan) in the warm sunshine watching people go by and putting the world to rights. Much later in the evening we got out the various instruments to play a few songs together so rounding off an excellent day.