Scottish Daily Mail

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- Peter May Bestsellin­g crime writer YORK MEMBERY

POST-LOCKDOWN TRAVEL PLANS?

I HAD to cancel a trip to Svalbard in May, so I want to go there. The hotel refused to give me a refund, so I only got a voucher. I’m £3,500 out of pocket!

EARLIEST HOLIDAY MEMORY?

IN GLASGOW they talk about ‘going doon the watter’, the Clyde estuary. When I was four I went to Millport. It’s famous for its crocodile-shaped rock with painted teeth.

FIRST TRIP ABROAD?

IN 1961, aged nine, my dad drove us to Italy in his old Austin 8. It took us five days. Our car overheated when we crossed the Great St Bernard Pass — we had to stuff snow in the radiator. On the Riviera I got awful sunburn and spent three days in bed.

FAVOURITE FOREIGN COUNTRY?

EITHER France, where I’ve lived for the past 20 years, or the U.S. I love Newport Beach in California.

ARE YOU MISSING SCOTLAND?

YES, particular­ly the Hebrides. It has some of the bleakest but most beautiful scenery in Britain. It’s like the Caribbean without palm trees and heat!

FANTASY TRAVEL COMPANION?

IF MY wife couldn’t join me, I’d love to get drunk in France and Spain with Ernest Hemingway. ■ PETER’S novel Lockdown is out in paperback.

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