The Walton Backwaters are still remote and rather mysterious, very much as they were when Arthur Ransome chose them for the setting of “Secret Water”, published 80 years ago next year, but their secrets are now revealed in a brand new film on DVD, available from the Nancy Blackett Shop. The new film, “Walton’s Secret […]
Nancy Blackett was once used as a film set for the movie Ginger and Rosa. It was more complex than appearing in a television documentary or on the local news but proved both worthwhile and interesting. Sophie Neville, star of the original “Swallows and Amazons” film and President of the Arthur Ransome Society, is often asked whether it is wise to make […]
Arthur Ransome’s “Old Peter’s Russian Tales” will be brought to life on stage in Swansea for one day only this month – on Saturday 24th November. Dramatised by D.J. Britton as “Once Upon a Time, Deep in the Forest”, and directed by Gilly Adams, this free event has been organised by Swansea University as part […]
Much has been written of the legacy left by Arthur Ransome, who inspired so many go camping, fell-walking or sail the seven seas with his “Swallows and Amazons” stories, writes Sophie Neville… I hope that he would be amused to learn it has been the arrow, fletched with green parrot feathers, that has flown through […]
Following a successful delivery trip from Woolverstone to Woodbridge earlier this month, Nancy Blackett has now been laid-up for the winter. Below are some photos of her safely out of the water at Robertson’s in Woodbridge, taken just after her laying-up. Click on any photo to enlarge it and start a slideshow.
Nancy Blackett’s last sail of the season turned into something of adventure, with a race against the weather to make it in time across the Deben Bar and up to Woodbridge. Sailing Secretary John Smith had originally planned this trip as an end-of-season members’ cruise, but the long-term weather forecast did not look so good, so […]
Fifteen months of filming have come to an end as documentary Walton’s ‘Secret Water’ launches this autumn, writes Vicky Gale in the Clacton and Frinton Gazette. A year in the life of the Walton Backwaters has been packaged into a 75-minute documentary which profiles the wildlife and human characters that inhabit it, as well as […]
Sophie Neville, President of the Arthur Ransome Society, explores some of the “Swallows and Amazons” locations as revealed in a letter by Arthur Ransome himself… I have been sent a copy of a letter written to a reader by Arthur Ransome in June 1955, revealing where some of his locations can be found. I was […]
Pupils from a Suffolk school spent a day visiting Nancy Blackett at Woolverstone Marina last week. Nancy Blackett Trust President Peter Willis was on hand to help show the children from Framlingham College Prep School around Arthur Ransome’s favourite yacht on 2nd October, ably assisted by Simon Jackson and Neil Brooks. The children happened to be […]
Nancy Blackett is currently holed up in her home berth at Woolverstone Marina with a suspected gearbox problem, writes John Smith, but it did not stop new member Kata Molnár and family visiting her on Sunday (7th Oct). They sent this lovely photo of them aboard along with the following message: “The book is the Hungarian […]
We’re sorry to be so nerve-danglingly jovial, but we have to say it – Christmas is coming! We also expect that you’ll be looking around for gift ideas, so we’ve come up with these special offers for you: “Swallows and Amazons” books and bookmarks How about an Arthur Ransome book with an exclusive matching bookmark? […]
Today, September 25th, 2018, marks the 80th anniversary of the launch of Arthur Ransome’s Selina King at Harry King’s yard in Pin Mill. The largest and finest of Ransome’s sea-going yachts, she was commissioned as a replacement for his Nancy Blackett. She was designed by Fred Shepherd, who came up with a handsome 35ft double-ended […]
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