This afternoon I took a trip to Hill Top, the house in Cumbria, where Arthur Ransome settled with his wife Evgenia in 1960, and where they lived together until his death in 1967. Stephen Sykes, the current owner, lives at Hill Top and is a huge Ransome enthusiast. Next door (and part of the house itself) is a luxury self-catering cottage with wonderful views over the Rusland valley, Grizedale Forest, and the Coniston fells beyond. Visitors have access to a brilliant games room with pool and table tennis tables, and a lovely patio surrounded by flowers. It’s a real gem of a place. You won’t do much better for a self-catering cottage in the Lake District. Stephen has very kindly allowed If Not Duffers to piggyback on the bookmarks he’s produced to promote the cottage, making a useful, double sided bookmark for reading Swallows and Amazons, and the rest of Ransome’s books. They’ll be around at the Chill Swim (Coniston Water end to end) on Saturday, and the marathon reading (Swallows and Amazons end to end) on Sunday, so drop by and pick one up if you can. Thanks Stephen!

More about Hill Top at http://www.hilltopvista.com/