Where is it?
A caravan park that I used to go to as a child, with my mum and dad every summer.
How did you discover it?
My dad’s family are all from Lewis. The caravan park sat at the top of a cliff which – as a child anyway – seemed massive and was also next to a lovely beach.
Why did you go there?
It was a cheap family holiday. My sister and I would spend the whole day adventuring nearby and going in the sea, despite it being freezing. This was before you called it “wild swimming”.
Even though I am from Portobello, which does have a beach, it is a different vibe when you’re on holiday. It was safe, beautiful and felt like time stood still. I’ve not been back to that particular place since I was 10. We still drive past it because we have lots of family up there, but I have never ventured in.
How often did you go?
We used to go for about three or four weeks every summer.
What’s your favourite memory?
One of the boys from the caravan next door – he came from Glasgow, which was very exotic to us – showed us plants that he called “honeysuckle”. They were edible plants, or maybe they weren’t edible and we just trusted him.
We were foraging for them on the clifftops. I remember that quite clearly and thinking, “This guy is from Glasgow, he knows everything about the world …” That was a formative day.
Who did you take?
I would go with my mum, dad and sister.
What did you take?
A bucket and spade. I don’t think we cared much about kicking a ball around. We were more into drawing inside if it was raining.
We used to play pen and paper games like dots and boxes or noughts and crosses. Ooh… and dominoes, snakes and ladders, Scrabble, Ludo and Guess Who. You needed good snacks too. Crunchies and Double Decker bars. The kind of chocolate that sticks to your teeth. Baked beans on toast. Caravan food.
What did you leave behind?
City life and the pressures of school. My sister and I didn’t hang out as much at home because we had our different friends. So, it was a summer to bond and create memories as we played together.
Sum it up in five words.
Innocence. Formative. Magical. Peaceful. Thrilling.
What other travel spot is on your wish list?
I was born in Malaysia, but we left when I was three and I’ve never been back. I don’t remember it at all. My mum and dad used to talk about it a lot. They loved the culture, the people and their lives there. I was born in Johor Bahru, so I would love to go there and to also travel around and see the whole country.
Shauna Macdonald stars in Two Sisters, a new play by David Greig, at the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh from February 10 to March 2. Visit lyceum.org.uk
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