Swallow

Introduction

Swallow is arguably the best known vessel in the Swallows and Amazons series. She plays a central role in Swallows and Amazons, and continues to do so in Swallowdale, even though she is physically absent from the action for most of the book. 

Description

Swallow was more of a working dayboat than a dinghy in the modern sense. Ransome variously describes her as 13' in length and as "between 13' and 14'. She had a single lugsail, which was brown with a distinctive white patch. Her hull was heavily-built using the traditional "clinker" design, where each plank overlapped its neighbour.

Perhaps her most distinctive feature was her lack of a centre plate. Instead she had a long, deep keel, described by John in Swallows and Amazons as "about 6" deep. She also carried six pigs of lead ballast, five small ones and a large one.

Ransome states that this design made Swallow "stiff", and thus able to stand up well to stronger breezes. However, it also made Swallow a poorer sailor in light winds as well as heavy and awkward to row. 

Ownership

Swallow belonged to the Jacksons, the farmers at Holly Howe. They presumably kept her for the use of paying guests, such as the Walker family. It is clear from the books that during their holidays based at Holly Howe, John, Susan, Titty and Roger were able to treat Swallow as if she was their own.

Swallow appears in
Swallows and Amazons, Swallowdale, Peter Duck, Missee Lee.

Factual Inspiration

As described in Ransome's biography, and in our page on his sailing career, in 1928 Ransome and Ernest Altounyan bought two dinghies, Swallow and Mavis, for Ernest's family to use whilst staying at Bank Ground Farm, on the north-east shore of Coniston Water. When the Altounyans left Coniston to return to Syria, Ransome kept Swallow. He subsequently used her as the fictional Swallow in Swallows and Amazons.

What Happened to the Real Swallow?

There is no proof as to exactly when Ransome disposed of Swallow, but it was almost certainly in 1935, when he was preparing to move from the Lake District to Suffolk. Ransome recorded in one letter that he was disappointed with Swallow's performance when racing her against his new dinghy, Coch-y-bonddhu. Swallow's new owner, Roger Fothergill, continued to sail her on Windermere until 1939; you can read about his impressions here, as part of Stuart Weir's article on the Boat's of Swallows and Amazons.  

Since then, Swallow has vanished without trace.  

Return to the Boats of Swallows and Amazons

Go to Amazon