On holiday with their mother in the Lake District in 1929 four children are allowed to sail over to the nearby island in their boat Swallow and set up camp for a few days. They soon realise this has been the territory of two other girls who sail the Amazon, and the scene is set for serious rivalry.
This is a lovely story that those of us (of a certain age) will look back on with a simple fondness. A family go on holiday to the English Lake District where they set up a camp on an island. Soon they are under attack from the "hostiles" - two girls from nearby. After a parley, they agree to join forces with the "Swallow" and the "Amazon" (their boats) signing articles to wage war on the girls' grumpy uncle "Jim". Virginia McKenna and Ronald Fraser play the grown ups fine; but this is essentially as gentle an adaptation as the water on the lake - with some fine performances from the six children who create just enough of a sense of derring-do to keep this engaging little version of the Arthur Ransome story bobbing along nicely.