MY FAVOURITE VIEW

Escape to the Country host Sonali Shah picks a window seat on the Riviera Line to Cornwall

I wish I’d had someone filming me the first time I saw the view of the Devon coast from the Riviera Line – I actually let out a gasp. The other people on the train just turned around and stared! I’d always been told that if I took that train, which goes from London all the way down to Cornwall, to sit on the left to get the most out of the view, but until I experienced it I didn’t comprehend just how close to the water the train goes.

I’ve started saying that it’s worth getting on that train for the journey itself. It may sound odd because what most people actually want to be doing is sitting on a nice beach, but with the unpredictable spring weather, it’s almost more alluring from the train. You can sit there, cosy with a cup of tea and take in the view without being blown away.

Usually I’m taking that train for work with Escape To The Country, and I always have things to do and scripts to learn, but I get that out of the way early in the journey because I know that view is coming. I’m not one for meditation but that’s when I take a mental break, seeing that view honestly just revives the soul and feels like a form of therapy for me.

It’s always just me on the train; I think with the age my children are at it would be quite a different experience with them! But I do look forward to taking them one day, once they get out of that needing-everything-butthe-kitchen-sink stage, because I think they would be fascinated. There’s the incredible rock formations of the Jurassic Coast, the Devon shoreline and the different beaches in Cornwall...

When I first saw that view of the coast from the train, I almost couldn’t believe we had that in Britain. When I was younger I never really saw much of the British countryside because, as a child of two immigrants, we spent the summer holidays with our grandparents back in Kenya. My mum was a midwife and it was the most cost-effective way of taking care of us kids for the holidays. So it’s only really been through my job that I’ve been able to explore the British countryside.

I’m lucky that every other week I get to discover another piece of British rural life. I’m there for people who aren’t holidaying; they’re there to put down roots, so I’m seeing villages that most people might never go to, except on the way to a holiday spot. It means I’m starting to get to know the countryside properly now. There’s just so much to explore in Britain and I don’t think you can ever get around all these amazing places, but I’m certainly trying! SONALI SHAH PRESENTS BBC ONE’S ESCAPE TO THE COUNTRY AND REGULARLY APPEARS ON BBC BREAKFAST, BBC RADIO 2, BBC RADIO 4, BBC WORLD SERVICE AND BBC LONDON. FOLLOW SONALI ON TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM @SONALISHAH.