To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Nancy Blackett Trust and Visit England’s Year of Literary Heroes, Pin Mill is hosting an Arthur Ransome Jamboree on Saturday 13th May.

It’s part of a year-long celebration of Arthur Ransome’s links with the area, which will include a Parade of Sail headed by Nancy Blackett on 4th June, a children’s party and a new sea shanties performance. More permanent innovations include information boards at Pin Mill and elsewhere, a new exhibition of Arthur Ransome’s own photographs of the building of Selina King and a newly signposted Arthur Ransome Trail.

The Jamboree will be opened by Sophie Neville, President of the Arthur Ransome Society, and will include all sorts of “Swallows and Amazons” events to be held on or around Pin Mill Common between noon and 5:30pm. Sophie starred as Titty Walker in the 1974 “Swallows and Amazons” film and will be signing advance copies of the second edition her memoir “The Making of Swallows and Amazons (1974)”.

Boats once owned by Arthur Ransome will be attending, including Peter Duck, built 70 years ago by Harry King & Sons of Pin Mill, and Nancy Blackett, the boat called Goblin in his Pin Mill-based story “We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea”.

Free taster sailing sessions for children and adults will be hosted out on the water by the Neptune Sailing school – with all equipment provided.

Pin Mill Sailing Club will host a Literary Lounge with a series of talks from authors including Sophie Neville, Julia Jones, children’s author, the Nancy Blackett Trust’s president Peter Willis and Hugh Brogan, biographer of Arthur Ransome.

The first public exhibition of photographs taken by Arthur Ransome himself of the building of his boat Selina King in King’s boatyard will be on show at the Pin Mill Studio, which is also hosting an exhibition of photographs from the restoration of Melissa, a barge restored to her former glory by Webb’s boatyard, with additional archive images of Pin Mill from the early 1900s.

There will also be an outside installation of old Pin Mill images around the beautiful Pin Mill area – with glimpses back in time.

Drop-in painting sessions will be hosted by local professional artists Christine Bryant and Claudia Myatt for budding painters and artists to try their hand at painting the timeless riverside of Pin Mill.

The Vintage Mobile Cinema, as seen on BBC Television’s Reel History of Britain, will be showing archive film of Pin Mill and Shotley, including faces from the past that you may recognize.

There will also be games and activities for children and families including a Pin Mill ‘Wooden Boat’ race along the stream leading down to the river, and Victorian swing boats, as seen on the Common in years gone by, as well as a pirates and seafarers fancy dress competition for children and adults – and even an Arthur Ransome lookalike competition (think pipe and moustache!), plus stalls and sideshows from many local groups, charities and organisations.

There will even be a geocaching route along the footpath from Shotley to Pin Mill for those who want to arrive with intrigue.

There will also be plenty of live music including “The Rabble Chorus”, shanties from Pin Mill favourites High Water Mark, a performance of “We Didn’t Mean to go to Sea” by pupils from Holbrook Academy, and much, much more.

There will be plenty to eat and drink with cream teas, a barbecue, and refreshments from the Butt and Oyster and Pin Mill Sailing Club, and event t-shirts will be available to celebrate this special anniversary and the heritage of this beautiful place.

More detailed information will be available nearer the day, but make sure that Saturday 13th May 2017 is in your diary. Local car parking space is limited, so visitors are encouraged to arrive on foot, by bike or by public transport where possible.