CHRIS JENKS, ACTOR
Where is it?
Sliddery Beach on the south coast of Arran.
How did you discover it?
Through childhood adventures. The beach is down a track from the village I grew up in. I would take our dog, a Labrador called Brandy, for walks there most days.
To reach it, you go along an overgrown track, down the hill, then round the corner where there is a ruined cottage covered in ivy. I always found it spooky walking past that spot as a child. From there, you go down through the fields to get to the beach.
It is a rocky beach with lots of seaweed and big breakwaters that stick out into the sea. There is a little patch of sand that, on a low tide and a lucky day, is sometimes visible.
If you look out over the water, you have the Mull of Kintyre on the right-hand side and what we call “Spoon Island” in the middle – I don’t know its real name. Then you have Ailsa Craig further over to the left. On a clear day you can see across to Northern Ireland.
How often do you go?
Every time I’m back home. My parents still live there and when I visit, I will go down to the beach. It is a good place for a contemplative walk.
What are your favourite memories?
It was an interesting place to spend time as a kid. A lot of animal bones would wash up on the beach, such as whale vertebrae, bird skulls and bones from sheep and cows. You would also find things like tyres, fishing nets and driftwood.
I remember going with my two best friends towards the end of my time at school – it must have been fifth or sixth year. We would sit down there on the beach and chat for ages.
Who do you take?
I love going there by myself. I also enjoy a walk with my brother or mum to chat and catch up. If I have friends staying over, I will take them down to the beach because it is nice to show them that bit of my childhood and where I come from.
What do you take?
Newspaper, matches, a barbecue grill, sausages, buns, a warm jacket and wellies.
What do you leave behind?
A desire to stay dry. When you are trudging around and trying not to slip on rocks, it makes you stay present in the moment. It is a good place to switch off from modern life.
Sum it up in five words.
Wild. Salty. Isolated. Peaceful. Home.
What other travel spot is on your wish list?
I have been doing a few solo trips and went to Barcelona recently. I would love to visit Berlin next.
Chris Jenks stars in new crime drama Karen Pirie, STV, tomorrow, 8pm
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here