List of places in Arthur Ransome books facts for kids

Have you ever read the exciting Swallows and Amazons series of books by Arthur Ransome? These stories are full of adventure, often taking place in amazing locations. Arthur Ransome was a clever writer. He described places in his books in great detail. Many of these places were based on real spots he knew well. He also used places he had read about. This article will tell you about some of these real-life inspirations.

Adventures by the Lake

The stories set in the Lake District might not exactly match the real world. But many places have been found! Arthur Ransome himself pointed some out. Other keen readers also discovered them.

• The Lake: This big lake in the books seems to be a mix of two real lakes. They are Windermere and Coniston Water in England's beautiful Lake District. The shape of the lake is like Windermere. But the land around it looks more like Coniston.
• Rio: This is the main town next to the Lake in the books. It is based on a real town called Bowness-on-Windermere.
• Holly Howe: This is the farm where the Walker family stays. It is also where their boat, the Swallow, is kept. This farm is like Bank Ground Farm. That farm is on the east side of Coniston Water.
• Wild Cat Island: The island where the Swallows and Amazons camp is based on Blake Holme. Blake Holme is in Windermere. But the Secret Harbour at the south end comes from Peel Island. Peel Island is in Coniston Water.
• Kanchenjunga: This is the mountain climbed in the book Swallowdale. It is based on Coniston Old Man. It was named Kanchenjunga because a famous trip to climb the Himalayan mountain happened when Ransome wrote the book. The Amazons' parents and Captain Flint called it the Matterhorn when they climbed it years before.
• Strickland Junction: This is where the Swallows changed trains to go to Rio. It is the real place called Oxenholme. Roger lets a pigeon go at Oxenholme station. This happens at the start of the book Pigeon Post.
• Beckfoot: This is the home of the Amazons and their mother, Molly Blackett. It is on the Amazon River, where it flows into the Lake. This place appears in Pigeon Post and The Picts and the Martyrs.

Exploring East Anglia's Waterways

Arthur Ransome was much more accurate with real places when writing books set in this part of England. The towns, villages, and rivers in this area usually have their true names. The descriptions also match, except for changes that have happened since the books were written.

• The books Coot Club and The Big Six are set around Horning. Horning is a village on the River Bure. This river is in the northern Norfolk Broads.
• We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea begins at Pin Mill. Pin Mill is on the River Orwell. This river is upstream from the ports of Felixstowe and Harwich. Ransome sailed his boat, the Nancy Blackett, from the River Orwell to Flushing in the Netherlands. He did this while researching the book.

Adventures in Essex

The book set in Essex also uses the real geography of the area very closely.

• Secret Water is set in and around Hamford Water. This area is close to the holiday town of Walton-on-the-Naze.

Other Exciting Book Locations

Ransome based the places in three other books on various sources. These include Peter Duck, Missee Lee, and Great Northern?. He often used his own experiences too.

• Crab Island: This treasure island from Peter Duck was based on a real volcanic island. It is the Brazilian island of Trindade. This island was described in a book called The Cruise of the Alerte by E.F. Knight.
• The Hebridean setting of Great Northern? was inspired by a fishing trip Ransome took. He went to Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. He was researching the area for the book.
• The Chinese setting of Missee Lee comes from a visit Arthur Ransome made to China. He traveled there in 1926 and 1927 for a newspaper called the Manchester Guardian. His travels and observations helped him create the world of Missee Lee.