Rio

The little town is known in guide-books by another name, but the crew of the Swallow had long ago given it the name of Rio Grande — (SA3)

Rio is a town on the shore of The Lake which serves as the principal link with the rest of England, having a railway station (on a hill a short bus ride up from the village), a steamer pier, shops, boatbuilders, etc.

Etymology

Rio is named for the destination Rio Grande mentioned in the sea song 'Away to Rio' (SA3). The canonical pronunciation of Rio might be "rye-oh" rather than "ree-oh".

Native prototypes

Rio is obviously based on the small towns of Bowness-on-Windermere and Windermere, which share the same geographical layout with, for example, the railway station in Windermere, a short bus ride uphill from the steamer pier in Bowness.

Bowness-on-Windermere photograph and location map