I WAS brought up in East Kilbride, which was Scotland’s first new town. I always felt I had a rather privileged upbringing, because it was very green and there were lots of things for kids to do, but holidays were a luxury we couldn’t really afford.

Luckily, my aunt Jean sometimes let us stay in her caravan in Cove and Kilcreggan, which was in a beautiful setting on a hillside overlooking Loch Long. When it wasn’t raining, we spent hours walking with my father, singing old songs in rounds. The smell of wild garlic is something I always associate with those holidays; they weren’t anything like as sophisticated as the trips my children enjoy, but I have happy memories of them.

When I was about 16, I went on a youth-hostelling expedition with some school friends. It was all carefully planned out. We caught the bus to Inverness and worked our way down to Glasgow, stopping off at places such as Pitlochry. We’d chosen a rather remote hostel for our last two nights because it looked so dramatic, like a castle on a hill, but it was too remote and definitely too cold. I don’t know why the man who ran it was doing that job, because he was an absolute horror and couldn’t have been more unwelcoming if he’d tried. We decided to get out of there as soon as possible, and managed to get a lift with the postbus to the nearest station. Our last night was spent in Glasgow, a mere 20 minutes from where I lived, but we went to see Grease, so it was quite a fun way to round things off.

Some of my best holidays have been in America. A couple of years ago, we won a trip to Vermont in a charity auction. It’s a beautiful place for a winter holiday, and we stayed at the Trapp Family Lodge, in Stowe — it’s owned by the von Trapp family, who inspired The Sound of Music, and is unstintingly Tyrolean.

But my favourite place in the States is New York, which I absolutely adore. My husband organised a wonderful trip for my 40th birthday, and we really did it in style. We travelled on the actual day, so it was the longest birthday I’ve ever had. We flew in first class, which I’d never done to New York before, from Glasgow via Dublin, which means you can go through immigration in Ireland, so you don’t have to hang around the airport for ages at the end of your flight. We were met off the plane, all our luggage taken care of, and ushered into a car that took us straight to our hotel, where we had a room on the ninth floor with an amazing view of Central Park.

I was determined that, as it was my 40th, I was going to do all the things I’d never got round to doing, including a helicopter ride over Manhattan, and because it was a special occasion, I made sure it was the longest one you can do, a super-duper 25 minutes. Big mistake. It was the worst experience of my life. I’d looked forward to it so much, but when it came to it, I was terrified. I didn’t see a single thing, because I had my hat pulled over my eyes, and when the pilot realised that I really wasn’t enjoying myself, he thought it would be funny to pull a few stunts, like suddenly dropping from the sky. I was mortified, wedged into this wee seat with everyone laughing their heads off at me. That was horrific, but it was the only downside of the trip.

My filming schedule for Taggart often clashes with the school holidays, so whenever there’s a week when we’re all free, I jump at the chance to go away with the kids. We spent a week in Amsterdam one summer, which, despite its red-light reputation, is a great place for children. It’s easy to avoid the seedier districts, while the pretty gabled houses, canals and barges really caught the kids’ imagination. It’s small enough to be manageable and has really interesting activities. The Zaanse Schans museum, just outside Amsterdam, is one of the best I’ve ever been to. It’s a living museum with real windmills, where you can see fish being smoked and clogs being made, and the kids can dress up in traditional costume.

We went to Dubai for the first time this year and the kids loved it. It’s very artificial, but tourists are incredibly well catered for and we were seriously pampered. We were staying opposite the Burj Al Arab hotel, which looks like the sail of a boat and, I imagine, is nicer to look at than stay in ... I suspect it’s quite gaudy inside, and it’s one of the most expensive hotels in the world. Not that I ever begrudge spending money on holidays: that’s when we catch up and spend time together as a family, so I think they’re worth every penny.

Blythe Duff talked to Hilary Witney