Posted by Jeremy Kriewaldt on June 04, 2002 at 06:01:50 from 203.27.30.240 user JeremyKriewaldt.
In Reply to: Re: map of the Lake posted by Ed Kiser on June 03, 2002 at 15:05:46:
One of the issues is that space (and time) in the 12 books may have more to do with the perceptions of the characters than with the "reality" of measurement. When Roger Wardale writes about his preferred candidate for Swallowdale, he rightly asks the person who follows his directions to imagine how this would look to a child of 7 to 12 years of age. The point is rightly made. I have returned to places that I knew very well in my childhood to find that my entire concept of the size and shape of the place was wrong because my point of reference has changed. Remember if you can how long a 50 metre swimming pool was when you first learned to swim and look at it now.
In the end, the question is not how large the lake is (was) but how large a space it provided for the children who used it as their imaginary space to hold their adventures.
Having said all that, the time I spent around Coniston and Bowness suggests to me that either Coniston or Windemere and the surrounding area would be big enough on this test.