Sophie Neville explores the influences of Arthur Ransome’s imagination on her own travelling adventures… The Arthur Ransome Society recently invited me to speak at their bi-annual Literary Weekend held at the Royal Agricultural University. The college is situated outside Cirencester in Gloucestershire, a ten minute drive from the Golden Valley of the Cotswolds where I […]
Restoration of the barge Growler has just passed an important milestone with the insertion of the first piece of new timber into the hull. It’s one of 10 new frames, using oak timber bought with help from the Nancy Blackett Trust’s Young Sailors Fund. Growler is a 34ft, one-third size sailing barge dating from 1922, […]
Here are some of the highlights of today’s Marathon Reading of Pigeon Post in the Coniston Coppermines Youth Hotel, as told by some of the participants. Please note: to see any single full-size photograph, click on the relevant tweet to see it. To view a photos in a group, clicking goes to the original tweet, […]
Update (January 3rd 2020): Please note that plans for this event are currently under reconsideration due to the illness of our proposed speaker Libby Purves. We hope Libby will be recovered and well enough to fulfil the engagement later in the year, and wish her well. Meanwhile we are holding the booking for March 20th at […]
Nancy Blackett has had a busy summer of sailing trips for members of the Trust along the East Coast, from local daytrips and overnight stays on the Rivers Orwell and Stour, to venturing further afield – south to “Secret Water” and north to Southwold and Lowestoft. On the way, our members have encountered lounging seals, […]
Earlier this summer author Marc Grimston explored Bank Ground Farm on the eastern shore of Coniston Water, best known as the model for “Holly Howe” in Swallows and Amazons, home of Swallow and the farmhouse where the Walker family stay for the holidays…
Earlier this week Greg Simpson borrowed the steam launch Bruin for a run down the River Crake from Coniston Water to Allan Tarn (Octopus Lagoon in Swallows and Amazons) as seen in this short video:
Earlier this summer author Marc Grimston went in search of the Dog’s Home, a small stone hut in woods that was a location in The Picts and the Martyrs, the eleventh and last completed book set in the Lakes in the Swallows and Amazons series. Notoriously challenging to find on the ground, the Dog’s Home […]
It’s the end of the first week of “Swallows and Amazons” on stage at York’s Theatre Royal, so here are some photos of the production. There are also photos below of the theatre foyer decked out to promote the show. To see the original photos click on the relevant Facebook icons [f].
Harwich’s annual Maritime Festival returns on Saturday 27th July, and Nancy Blackett will be there and open to visitors. The Nancy Blackett Trust’s stall will also be present amongst over 50 traders, a programme of live entertainment and various ship- and water-based activities. The festival will take place between 11am and 6pm around the historic […]
With Arthur Ransome’s ‘Swallows & Amazons’ about to take to the stage at York’s Theatre Royal, Steve Pratt looks back at the lasting legacy of the 1974 film with actress and writer Sophie Neville. Arthur Ransome’s ‘Swallows & Amazons’ has been part of Sophie Neville’s life for fifty years. Filming on location in the Lake District in […]
You can now view photos of Nancy Blackett’s passage home from the Solent to Suffolk last month in the gallery below. Click on a photo to view full-size in a lightbox carousel.
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