A home movie made by Ken Ellwood begins with the fifth birthday of his youngest son Peter who receives his cards and presents in bed while recovering from Chicken pox. Next all four Ellwood siblings David, Deborah, John and Peter go sledding in the snow down White Hills near the family’s home at Skipton in North Yorkshire. The film changes to the family on their 1969 summer holiday to Scotland where in the small sandy bay of Clashnessie Beach in Sutherland the children play with an inflatable...

A home movie made by Ken Ellwood begins with the fifth birthday of his youngest son Peter who receives his cards and presents in bed while recovering from Chicken pox. Next all four Ellwood siblings David, Deborah, John and Peter go sledding in the snow down White Hills near the family’s home at Skipton in North Yorkshire. The film changes to the family on their 1969 summer holiday to Scotland where in the small sandy bay of Clashnessie Beach in Sutherland the children play with an inflatable canoe after which the boys go fishing on nearby Loch Eileanach. The canoe comes out again with the children plus their father speeding along in the current of the river Garry near Blair Castle in Blair Athol, Perthshire. The final section of the film features daughter Deborah leaving for the United States of America from Heathrow Airport on a Pam Am Boeing 747. Peter Ellwood sits up in bed with a smile, he wears a badge with his age on it and has a toy guitar resting in his lap. Beside him several large birthday cards. He holds up a small sign made with multicoloured letters that reads ‘Peter is 5 today’. The letters change to read ‘and is poorly’ . He begins to play with a red toy excavator and pluck his guitar. On a snow-covered hillside Deborah pulls a sled up the slope to the top where Peter is waiting. He slides down on the sled accompanied by older sister Deborah followed by his brother John speeds down the hill on his own sled. Next eldest brother David sleds down the slope accompanied by a friend. At the bottom Deborah, John and Peter make their way back to the top of the hill, Deborah and John pulling their sleds. They get back on their sleds in readiness for another run. On Clashnessie Beach Deborah pumps up an inflatable canoe while John blows up a plastic beach ball. David and Deborah carry the canoe down to the shoreline followed by John who jumps in and is pulled out into the surf. Peter, wearing trunks but still in shoes and socks races towards the surf carrying a rubber ring. He stops to remove his shoes and socks running into the cold water to join his siblings. David, Deborah, and John happily splash about in the sea playing with the canoe watched by Peter on the shoreline. David pushes Deborah in the canoe further out into the water before getting into the boat himself. The three Ellwood children sit on a rock just offshore waving, the canoe splashing against it. David and John walk along a road running beside Loch Eileanach with an older boy, all three of them carry fishing rods. They walk along a track around the loch and set up to go fishing. They are joined by Peter. David casts his line into the water twice, the older boy fishes nearby. David catches a small Trout which is unhooked from the line by the older boy and presented to him. He casts his line again while John and Peter admire the fish laying on a nearby rock with John picking it up and holding it up for the camera. Another man in glasses and wearing waterproof appears and joins David fishing. He catches another smaller fish holding it up for the camera. John plays in a boat that sits on the shoreline. Two of the Ellwood children cross a suspension footbridge over the river Garry at Baluain near Blair Castle. On the riverbank next to the bridge the other Ellwood children changing into swimming trunks. On the water the inflatable canoe with David Ellwood sitting in it, his sister Deborah in her bathing costume followed by brother John rush along the shoreline towards him. David uses his hands to paddle downstream, in the background his sister and brother splash around in the river. David gets out and pulls the canoe onshore changes to Deborah now coming down the river in the canoe paddling with her arms to the shore. On the far bank John and Peter with Deborah carries the canoe across the water to them; John gets in and speeds down the river in the current passing under the suspension bridge. Peter comes down next getting stuck in the middle of the river as his arms aren’t long enough for him to paddle to shore, the current eventually brings him in. Ken Ellwood follows speeding past under the suspension bridge. The Ellwood children sit relaxing on the rocky shoreline, John and Peter licking the papers of their now eaten ice creams. David opens his mouth to reveal an adult premolar coming through. Ken lifts and holds Peter over the river as he washes his face in the water. Deborah crosses back across the suspension bridge towards a sign for Blair Castle. In the castle garden David, Deborah and John sit on a wall overlooking the castle itself. A young woman carrying a suitcase walks through an airport, outside several commercial airlines parked at their gates. On the runway an airhostess stands at the bottom of a set of steps leading onto a Pan Am Boeing 747 aircraft. Behind her a second set of steps are being moved into position on the aircraft. A man in a uniform, possibly the pilot, stands chatting with the girl beside the steps. The film ends with the airplane taxiing towards the runway and taking off.