For the Walker children, summer is the very best time of the year. Finally out of the classroom, they spend their school holidays in the countryside, exploring the rural landscape of the Lake District where every morning they wake up to a new adventure. One day, the Walkers borrow a dinghy named Swallow and go sailing, and they happen to meet the two Blackett children, sailing their own dinghy, called Amazon. Nancy (Seren Hawkes) and Peggy Blackett (Hannah Jayne Thorp) live near where the Walkers are staying, and soon the group of children become firm friends, spending their days racing their boats, fishing, and going on excursions.
However, the Blackett’s grumpy Uncle, James Turner (Rafe Spall), whom they nickname ‘Captain Flint,’ seems determined to put a dampener on their fun. The children refuse to let him ruin their exploits, but when his houseboat is robbed in the dead of night, their focus shifts to the mystery. Will they be able to solve the crime and win Captain Flint over to their side, once and for all?
Set in the 1930s and based on the classic children’s novel by Arthur Ransome, Swallows and Amazons is directed by Philippa Lowthorpe, (Jamaica Inn) and features an ensemble cast of fresh young faces, including Orla Hill, Teddie-Rose Malleson-Allen, Dane Hughes, and Bobby McCulloch as Susan, Tatty, John, and Roger Walker.