Yes, pretty wooden acting from the children, but I think that was pretty common 34 years ago! However, it's still a good film.

Regarding the likelihood of any parent allowing their children to do what the Walkers did, even at the time - my uncle aged 14 was allowed to take his two younger brothers (10 and 8) overnight camping in a very similar boat on the Solent in 1926 - a far more dangerous place to sail! They were all "not duffers, didn't drown".

I think the film still appeals to younger kids. I took my god-daughter and a friend (8 and 6) to the island in a small dinghy with tan sails, and we lit a fire at the camp ground and filled a kettle from the lake, just as the Walkers do in the film. That was in 2005, and they loved it!

Set in 1929, the four Walker children go with their mother for a holiday in the Lake District of England.

They sail a dinghy called named Swallow and form a rivalry with the Blackett girls who have a dinghy named Amazon.

The Walker children camp on a small island in the lake where they engage in a pirate adventure with the Blacketts.

The Blacketts' Uncle Jim accuses the Walker's of stealing his chest although one of them noticed some strange men hanging about.

This is a slight children's tale which now looks listless, nothing much exciting happens. Ronald Fraser's Uncle Jim is just all wrong in his characterisation. It looks like Arthur Ransome's book was gutted in the adaptation.