Posted by Robert Hill on January 28, 1998 at 10:31:49:
As is well known, whilst Wild Cat Island is based mainly on Peel
Island in Coniston, and places to the west of the lake such as
Kanchenjunga and High Topps are based on places to the west of
Coniston, the lake itself and places to its east are based mainly on
Windermere.
On the basis of the maps in the books, the lake is shorter (in
relation to its width) than Windermere, and much straighter
(I believe the name Windermere means "winding mere").
In my recent re-reading of Swallows and Amazons I noticed
something whose significance had previously escaped me.
On about t6he third page of chapter 1 there is a description of
the lake as seen from Darien: "winding away into the high hills
to the north and winding away into the lower hills to the south",
or very similar words.
So perhaps the straightness and squatness of the lake in the maps
is a mere cartographical convenience - designed to help fit the
maps in the books or to represent maps drawn by the characters -
and we should think of the lake as being even more like Windermere.