We celebrated the 40th anniversary of the filming of “Swallows and Amazons” with the restored dinghy Swallow, one of its stars, at Bucklers Hard this weekend, in conjunction with IAGM of the Arthur Ransome Society. 

While Nancy Blackett was receiving visitors at the adjacent marina, Sailing Swallow co-founder Magnus Smith was on hand to take enthusiastic sailors of all ages on voyages downriver and back again, subject to the unpredictable wind and the obligatory pair of oars. In the evening, one of the other stars of the film, Sophie Neville (who played Titty) gave an entertaining talk about the secrets of making the film at Brockenhurst College.

See our Flickr photo gallery of Swallow on the Beaulieu River.