Swallows and Amazons: the Lake District settings

Although the original book was set on Wild Cat Island in Coniston Water, scenes from the film were shot at Derwent Water, Windermere and Coniston Water, plus parts of North Yorkshire and Scotland.

Journalist Chris Wiltshire travelled to one of Derwent Water's four permanent islands, St. Herbert's to undertake a true Swallows and Amazons experience. The island covers between four and five acres and is named after the saint of the same name who brought Christianity to the area in 685 AD. St Herbert used the island as an hermitage and after his death, it became a place of pilgrimage.

Chris felt as if St Herbert was watching over him as he passed his first bushcraft test at the island - which is one of Britain's most heavenly destinations.

Faced with having to boil water on a magical island without the aid of matches or a lighter, my prayers are answered by the former monk when the tiny pieces of bark from a silver birch tree crackle and then burst into flames with little more than a flick of flint on steel.

Saint Herbert must have performed a similar task every day when he lived as a hermit on this island in the middle of Derwent Water, Cumbria, back in 687 AD.

He would have caught fish in the crystal-clear waters, poured himself a drink and then sat back in wonder at the beauty of his surroundings, the four highest mountains in the Lake District rising out of the deep blue lake in majestic splendour.

A tree-laden haven for wildlife, St Herbert's Island features heavily in the remake of Arthur Ransome's classic children's tale Swallows And Amazons, which is expected to be one of the blockbuster films of the summer.

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The nostalgic big-screen adaptation follows the adventures of the four Walker siblings - John, Susan, Roger and Titty (controversially renamed Tatty for political correctness) - on holiday with their mother in the Lakes while their father is at sea with the Royal Navy.

They are given permission to sail their boat Swallow for a camping trip to Wild Cat Island, when their father responds to their eager request with a telegram, saying: "Better drowned than duffers; if not duffers won't drown." But after encountering rival sailors the Amazons (sisters Nancy and Peggy Blackett), they engage in warfare.

Eventually, though, the children join forces to aid the Blacketts' uncle James Turner ( or Captain Flint) who is caught up in murky dealings with Russian spies.

In a nod to Ransome's shady past - he was kept on file by MI5 as a suspected spy - the plot takes an altogether more sinister turn, with plenty of subterfuge and high-speed chases.

The base for our weekend trip to the Lakes is the delightful Borrowdale Gates Hotel, a five-minute journey from the market town of Keswick.

Ransome would often make the short walk from Keswick to Friars Crag, a small headland that the renowned poet and art critic John Ruskin once said offered one of the three best views in Europe. It's named after the monks who sailed over to St. Herbert's Island to visit the saint and, when the sun breaks through the clouds, the scene is achingly beautiful.

I'm here to savour the delights of the restored Victorian Steam Yacht Gondola, which has been picking up tourism attraction awards for its luxurious interior and knowledgeable staff.

It was the Gondola that gave Ransome the idea for Captain Flint's houseboat in Swallows And Amazons, and extracts from the novel regularly feature in a fascinating commentary, as the passenger boat makes its way around the lake.

As I bid my farewell, it dawns on me there is probably no greater example of the power and reach of the old rascal's work.

Just like Wild Cat Island, Swallows And Amazons is likely to be enjoyed for generations to come by people throughout the world.

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