Josie Long: My life in travel

'My favourite thing is wild swimming – it makes you feel so exhilarated and alive'

You Bute: the Scottish island holds happy memories (Getty)

Comedian Josie Long starts a nationwide tour in January (josielong.com).

First holiday memory?

When I was about five, my parents took me and my sister on holiday to Mallorca. My mum covered me in sun cream and I remember loving the sun, never burning and getting a really nice tan afterwards. So, in my head I believed I just didn't burn and had this amazing Mediterranean complexion even though I'm from Orpington. I'd edited out the memory of my mum putting sun cream on me. Then when I was a teenager I used to burn myself all the time.

Favourite place in the British Isles?

Glasgow. I love the atmosphere of the city. It's got a real friendliness and a sense of fun, but it's also very beautiful. The architecture is incredible. I love the fact that it's really close to lochs and munros too.

Best holiday?

I went to the Isle of Bute with my boyfriend when we'd just started seeing each other. We were so excited to be away together that even the trains felt fun. We made ourselves little dinners in our cottage, went for long walks on the beach and swimming in the sea. It was freezing.

Josie Long

What have you learnt from your travels?

I love to eat. Eating is a real travel motivator for me. I went to Vietnam a few years ago and I was such a food tourist. I was just looking for where I could get something unusual to eat.

Ideal travel companion?

I'd like somebody to be adventurous. They'd have to be up for hiking or swimming in a lake.

Beach bum, culture vulture or adrenalin junkie?

I love to stay in cities and go to museums but I absolutely adore doing physical sports and anything to do with the water. It's such a thrill. My favourite thing is wild swimming – I feel so exhilarated and alive. I've swum in the Peak District, the Lake District, Wales, the South-west of England, in the sea all over the South-east, in ponds in Essex in secret. Last year my friend and I swam on Christmas Eve at Highgate Ponds and it was actually really mild.

Greatest travel luxury?

Portable music. When I went to Vietnam I had Joanna Newsom's album Ys; it's such an atmospheric record. I went on a hike in the mountains and was listening to that. It was mindblowing – beautiful, expansive orchestral music while I looked out over these ravines.

Holiday reading?

I went on a beach holiday with my boyfriend in November and I read three novels in a week, which is really good going for me. I tend to read things that I've been meaning to read and I haven't got round to. I've just read Ghostwritten by David Mitchell, which I really enjoyed.

Where has seduced you?

I love going to France. I could keep going back there my whole life; the food is incredible. It's hard not to be a bit of a pathetic Francophile.

Worst travel experience?

When I first got to Vietnam, the hostel I was staying in arranged for a taxi to pick me up from the airport. I was nervous and I hadn't done much travelling, especially not on my own. The driver got lost and couldn't find the hostel. I was like: "Oh my God, he's going to murder me." It's hilarious how easily frightened I was about nothing.

Worst hotel?

I once did a gig in Liverpool that coincided with match day so I couldn't get a hotel. Eventually this room came up and it was about £100, which I thought was acceptable. But when I got there, it was the most horrible dive. There were no real members of staff. There was a little bed which wasn't even like a full single bed, and instead of a sink there was just half a tap hanging off the wall.

Best hotel?

I stayed in a hotel in Tokyo – we only went for one night, it was so expensive it was like a big special treat. It was called the Cerulean Tower Hotel and you could see all of Tokyo.

Favourite walk, swim, ride or drive?

I once did the Northumberland Coast walk in the North-east of England. We started out in Alnmouth and walked up to Berwick-upon-Tweed. It was me and a couple of friends and it was so beautiful: massive, mile-long beaches, nobody around and so much wildlife.

Best meal abroad?

I had some of my best meals of my life in Vietnam. Once I got off a train at 4am and found this pho place, and it was just me and loads of dads with their kids on their way to school having big bowls of beef noodle soup. Brilliant.

Where next?

Over New Year my friends and I are renting a little cottage in Swansea. We're just going to sit by the beach and look at the sea.