My Life In Travel: Sheila Hancock, actress and author

'Berlin really seduced me – the people are lovely'

(Rex Features)

First holiday memory?

It was hardly a holiday, but my first trip was being evacuated – a label was stuck on me, I was put on a steam train and off I went to Berkshire. I was excited about the steam train, but very upset about leaving my parents.

Best holiday?

A holiday in Bali with John [Thaw, Hancock's late husband] in the early 1970s. Derek Nimmo recommended that we stay with a man called Jimi Pandi who had a fabulous house on the beach. It was full of amazing Balinese antiques and we lived in a little hut in the garden with the beach literally outside our door.

Jimi took us to visit all sorts of places, including Ubud, which wasn't at all on the tourist trail at the time. We were given beautiful gifts of flowers and fruit by villagers. It was so beautiful and genuine.

Favourite place in the British Isles?

I love Britain and its infinite variety, so I don't like choosing one place. However, at the moment one of my favourite places is Portsmouth because I'm chancellor of the university there. I was born on the Isle of Wight, so I used to go quite a lot when it was quite gloomy, but these days it's the most amazing city.

The Historic Dockyard is the most extraordinary place with the Mary Rose, and there's the smart shopping and restaurant destination at Gunwharf Quays. It has also got a fantastic literary history with Dickens's birthplace. Conan Doyle lived there, too.

What have you learnt from your travels?

How liberating travel is; you forget about your every day life and stop worrying about home as soon as you reach a different environment where nobody knows you.

Ideal travelling companion?

I prefer to be on my own. I wrote a book about travelling alone called Just Me; it was fantastic doing my own thing and not worrying about somebody else. I have one girlfriend who I quite like going on holiday with because she is as curious as me and likes exploring back alleys and taking risks.

Beach bum, culture vulture or adrenalin junkie?

I am absolutely a culture vulture. I once went on a lovely cruise on a small boat around Greek and Turkish islands, getting off and clambering over ruins that aren't on the tourist trail. That sort of thing is wonderful.

Greatest travel luxury?

My suitcase, because I never take anything but hand luggage. I have a good, lightweight bag that's the maximum size you can take as hand luggage and it saves me so much time.

Where has seduced you?

Berlin. Being a wartime child I never wanted to go to Germany and when I was writing my book I thought I ought to come to terms with it. I had also discovered taking part in [the BBC ancestry show] Who Do You Think You Are? that I have German roots, so I decided to visit. I hated Westphalia but completely fell in love with Berlin (pictured below), it really seduced me. It is a wonderful city and the people are lovely.

Better to travel or arrive?

I'm not that keen on flying but I've got it down to a fine art. I have rituals that I go through and I know which corners of airports to hide in. Generally I enjoy travel, though.

Holiday reading?

I only take books about the area I'm going to: a novel set in the place, if possible, and lots of guidebooks.

Worst hotel?

I've stayed at some awful places, including a place in Buxton, Derbyshire, which had pretensions of being incredibly grand but one could not get a sandwich there.

Best hotel?

The hotel I found most extraordinarily luxurious was the Dhara Dhevi in Chiang Mai. It was mad: incredible rice paddies with imported houses from all over Thailand dotted about that had been glitzed up with Jacuzzis which changed colour. It was the most unbelievable luxury. The staff were extremely friendly.

Worst travel experience?

London Underground in the rush-hour.

Favourite walk?

I had a little caravan when I was in my 20s and I once took it to Cuckmere Haven, near Eastbourne. I remember the walk from my caravan over the Seven Sisters, it was unbelievably lovely. There was wild honeysuckle with the most amazing perfume and larks flying above; I never saw another person.

Best meal abroad?

At Jimi Pandi's house in Bali. It was my first taste of Balinese cooking and it was exquisite: fragrant, out-of-this-world food.

Dream trip?

Somewhere I haven't been before. I'd like to go to frozen parts of the world, to see the Northern Lights and fjords. I like the idea of the Trans-Siberian railway, too.

Favourite city?

Venice, for the bits where tourists don't go. For that, you have to have the Venice For Pleasure guide by JG Links, which directs you to unknown gems. John and I once did a lovely trip following it.

Where next?

I'm not planning to go anywhere other than my house in the Luberon in France. I'm writing another novel at the moment, so that's where I go to write.

'Sheila Hancock Brushes Up: The Art of Watercolours' starts tomorrow on BBC1 at 6pm