We all need a holiday... so here’s hoping your one is very memorable

So what makes for a happy holiday – is it the destination, the sunshine or the company you keep?

As thousands of families prepare for their summer holiday I’ve been thinking about what contributes to a memorable one.

A third of Brits who take foreign holidays tend to return to the same place every year, according to recent survey.

Many even return to the same bars and restaurants.

So we’re creatures of habit – we know what we like and very often play it safe rather than risk somewhere we haven’t experienced.

Author Victoria Hislop, who writes novels set in her favourite holiday destination of Greece, makes no secret of the fact that after trying other places, she feels most at home in Agios Nikolaus.

She said: “One year I was lying on a beach in Thailand and realised I was homesick. Not for London, but for Crete. I yearned to be there with its reliable blue sky and delicious food.

“Having holiday habits has its advantages. No more unfamiliar bathrooms, no more fumbling with unknown showers, no more breakfast lottery. I know what I’m getting and I like that.”

There is something cosy and comforting about a place you’ve come to know and love.

For six years, our family went to a little cottage in Carradale, Argyll, every summer. Nothing ever

What is it that makes a holiday a happy one?

changed in our routine and our kids loved that – fishing from the harbour, building sand castles on the beach, going out in a little boat around the bay. Until one summer it rained for over a week and we couldn’t face another game of Monopoly as the drizzle streaked down the windows.

So then we tried France and loved it. From Brittany in the north to Nice in the south we’ve found pretty cottages, delicious food and stunning beaches.

From the moment I get the suitcases out of the loft I feel the excitement of packing my holiday wardrobe of linen trousers, T-shirts, sandals and sun-hat which have seen several summers.

Cornwall is a favourite destination while the Scottish islands are also terrific holiday spots.

Last week, I went to hear Scottish poet Liz Lochhead read from new book Fugitive Colours and her descriptions of life on Jura make me want to go there.

For Liz, her cosy caravan, books to read, long walks by the shore and a whisky at bedtime are the ingredients of a happy holiday

When you look at your photographs of past summers you remember the laughs, the discoveries, the midges, the sunburn, the beauty of the sun setting over the sea.

We all need holidays. Whether you’re going somewhere familiar or to a new destination, I hope you enjoy the place and the people you are with. Making memories to last a lifetime are what holidays are all about.

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