Posted by Duncan on March 25, 2014 at 01:16:38 user Duncan.
I was very pleased to receive my copy of the 2014 Mixed Moss.
I read most of it last night, and there are some great articles. Some books reviewed that I must read, some new insights into various aspects of the world of AR (including a different Swallowdale which might have me wandering the moors as soon as the weather picks up...) and - my highlight so far - a great article by Roger Wardale about AR's time with the real Swallow and his diary entries for Swallow's various voyages around Windermere.
It gives a remarkably simple reason for the initial geographical "mixing" that makes the Lake in the North: the Windermere that he was exploring in Swallow as he was writing, and the Coniston that he knew as a child. Others have added the Windermere that he knew as a schoolboy into that mix too, which is worth considering, although we know that wasn't a happy time.
It is also interesting that his voyages in Swallow seem largely based within a couple of hours sailing of Bowness/Parson's Wyke spending more time in the northern basin with Storrs Hotel seeming to be about as far South as he tended to venture. I had always found Blake Holme to be a doubtful model for Wild Cat Island (and wondered whether AR mentioned it purely to distract people!) and the fact that it didn't appear to be part of his general route as a sailor seems to add weight to this.