Posted by Roger Wardale on November 26, 2013 at 04:00:45 user RogerW.
In Reply to: The REAL location of Swallowdale posted by Mike Field on November 26, 2013 at 02:17:25:
Hello Mike,
I feel almost obliged to try to answer your question as best I can. The 'real' Swallowdale can only be found on the pages of SD.
First of all, consider other locations. Wild Cat is unlike Peel Island, Ramp Holme or Blake Holme. Beckfoot is unlike Lanehead, Town Head or any other Lakeland House that I know of. High Greenland is not very like the country south-east of Coniston or Windermere that is too wooded and without crags. The houseboat is different from Esperance or Gondola in several respects. The North Pole is unlike the bathing hut on the shore at Waterhead. There is no Lakeland river like the River Amazon, that seems to be an amalgam of three rivers. High Topps is not to be found south of Kanchenjunga. I could go on. . .
By way of contrast, Rio Bay, Long Island, Cormorant Island (in 1930), Holly Howe, Octopus Lagoon, all of which are in SA, are recognisable, and of course, The Dogs' Home in PM.
I believe that people who look for other exact places, do not take into account AR's wonderful imagination and his ability to combine places (and people?) However, I do believe that Peel Island has the spirit of WCI and also that Long Scars (SSW of Peel I) contains the waterfall and spirit of Swallowdale.
Something that also needs to be taken into account was explained in my short piece in Signals last year, that each reader joins Ransome in the creative process. I have been to several sites in the Blawith (Coniston) area that correspondents have thought were the 'original' Swallowdale that did not work for me at all.
Finally, I believe that basing identification on AR's illustrations rather than the text is non-productive.
This should be enough to start a stimulating discussion!
I am not clever enough to post photos, but could email.