CHRIS BROOKMYRE, AUTHOR
Where is it?
Chatelherault Country Park, Hamilton – about 10 minutes' drive from where I live. It takes its name from the house that was built as the Duke of Hamilton's hunting lodge in the 18th century, but mostly I go there for the landscape.
The house is worth a visit for the exhibitions and the cafe, and for the sensation that you're on a ship if you walk through the upstairs rooms. The floor is so warped that you need your sea legs to get across it.
Why do you go there?
I go there to walk. There are many routes to explore, but my favourite is an eight-kilometre loop that takes in woodlands, meadows, the River Clyde and several sheltered small glens, one of which is actually called "Sma' Glen".
It is the kind of place that feels completely different depending on the time of year – or even the time of day. It is particularly spectacular in heavy frost or after a snowfall. If you get there early in the morning, you will see deer on the paths and the occasional red squirrel.
How often do you go?
In pre-Covid days, when I was working on the plot of a novel, I would sometimes go there several times a week to let the view inspire me and let the ideas flow. I missed it when we were restricted from non-essential travel.
What's your favourite memory?
There's a great play park for kids near the house, and at certain times of year I used to take my son and his pal there after nursery or school.
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There was something utterly serene about sitting in the late afternoon spring sunshine, watching the two of them play and hearing their laughter, utterly lost in the worlds they were creating. I remember thinking: "This is what makes all the hard stuff about parenthood worthwhile."
What do you take?
Sturdy walking shoes and a judicious selection of layers that can be shed and tied around the waist if necessary. There are some steep climbs so, even on the coldest days, you can be sweating by the time you reach the top.
What do you leave behind?
I do a lot of work while walking, so I leave behind all the distractions and temptations of being in the house. If I'm down by the Clyde or tramping on a carpet of pine needles, I can't decide the bathrooms need cleaned or that I ought to answer that email.
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Sum it up in five words.
Green. Tranquil. Secluded. Inspiring. Ancient.
What other travel spot is on your wish list?
I have been dreaming of being back on the beach at Praia da Luz in Portugal. We've been there as a family so many times over the past 20 years, so it always feels like a place to take stock, to remember the different people we were when we walked there at previous stages of our lives. Finally going there post-pandemic is going to mean a lot.
The Cut by Chris Brookmyre is out now in paperback (Abacus, £8.99). His next book The Cliff House will be published by Little, Brown on July 28
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