Filming Dates
Actually filmed during the summer of 1973, but not released until a year later.
shareProbably done that way so as to ensure the film is in cinemas during the school summer holidays of 1974. Nowadays that kind of practice is common place, films aimed at children (especially older ones) are often made with a summer release date in mind in order to get a chance at good box office receipts from their target audiences. And in England, if you are filming outdoors (like in this film) then your best chance of decent weather is in the middle of the Summer anyway. I bet the Lake District Tourist Board weren't too pleased with the havoc of filming generated to the area during the tourist season in 1973.
shareI'm pretty sure the filming was brought forward to begin on 14th May 1973 to fit in with Virginia McKenna's availability. She had four children of her own by then so wanted to work while they were at school and be free during the summer holidays. This proved a blessing because the Lake District gets very busy once schools break up and the roads used to get full of traffic. The only problem with filming in May and June was that it could get terribly cold out on the water and the children found swimming in the lake almost unbearable. One secret of the film is that there were three pick-up shots recorded near Egham in Surrey in September... see 'The Making of Swallows & Amazons'(1974)
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