Eastern Region

Contact us at sec.east@arthur-ransome.org

Welcome to the Eastern Region pages! Our news is below the calendar.

For more information about committee members, see Gateway pages in Signals

You can find us on facebook here.

We’re not Duffers!

Welcome to the TARS East page. Here in our region we are very fortunate to have six of Ransome’s books based here. First we have Coot
Club and The Big Six that are based around the Norfolk Broads. Almost all of the places mentioned in the books are still very easy to find, with the possible exception of the Doctor’s and twins’ homes and the Wilderness. All the towns and villages mentioned have changed very little since Ransome’s day, except that there might be a lot more Hullabaloos now, but the Norfolk Broads are still well worth a visit. Maybe if you have time you can pop along to Hunters yard and see the Teasel’s transom that is still there from the TV series.

Then we also have We Didn’t Mean To Go To Sea and Secret Water. Both of these books start at Pin Mill on the river Orwell near Ipswich. If you wander down the lane you will find Alma Cottage just as it is mentioned in both books. Then you can walk just a little further and find the hard with the Butt and Oyster pub exactly as they were in Ransome’s day. You can still get a very good meal in the pub. This is the location of many TARS East meetings and we almost always celebrate Arthur’s birthday with a talk and meal in the famous pub. If you fancy a walk after your lunch there is a very good Arthur Ransome geocaching trail that goes through the woods behind the pub all the way to Shotley.

Another book is of course Peter Duck that starts in Lowestoft, the most easterly point on the UK mainland. The adventure starts as the Wildcat sails out of the harbour and away to look for treasure with the evil Black Jake in pursuit. I said at the beginning of this page six books, and I suspect you are thinking that I made a mistake, but no! The last book was never finished and we know it as Coots in the North. It starts on the Norfolk Broads before heading up to the Lake that we all know so well.

Here in the East we like to go out as a group quite a lot. Here are a few of the things we have done over the past few years: Crossed the Red Sea (see Secret Water!).

 

We have been on a steam train, as quite a few of the books mention them, sailed around the Secret Water on a Heritage boat, and also been out to sea at Wells next the Sea on a former Lifeboat that had been one of the Little Ships that had gone out to Dunkirk in 1940 during the war.

We are all very lucky to have Nancy Blackett’s home mooring in our area, this was Ransome’s own boat, and is often at events. The author of this page had the fortune to sail her out to sea beyond Beach End Buoy, I Did Mean To Go To Sea!

We also have lots of interesting talks and sometimes are visited by celebrities who share a love for all things Ransome. In 2021 we were pleased to host the IAGM weekend on the Shotley peninsular.

We are a friendly bunch and are always looking for new members.

Do come and join us!