Why? I fall in love with anywhere abroad - I'm a terrible tart! I'd just finished a tour of the UK with Edward Hardwicke and his wife Prim. I can't remember the name of the play but it matters not - it was terrible. Anyway, on the last night Edward gave Prim a restored Morris Minor tourer and she asked me to accompany her on the drive to their home near Carrouges in Normandy. It was late summer so the weather was lovely and we felt very grand, wearing hats and dark glasses for the occasion. It was like England 30 years ago: lots of hedgerows, quiet roads and very rural. You wonder where England went - well, it went to Normandy.

The best thing: The leisurely way of life. People concentrate on what is important. If they go shopping, they take their time so they get the nicest things. People have time to say hello, especially if you are in a Morris Minor. Then they all beep their horns at you and shout "Hello English". Contrary to public opinion, a lot of the French love the English - especially in Normandy and Brittany.

My ideal day: You can go to the chateaux at Carrouges and have a barbecue, sit outside and watch a film played on the chateaux walls for all of £10. If you want to get drunk it costs an extra £1. Everybody goes to the screening and it is lovely.

My advice: Stay in a chateau for around £30 a night. It will be beautiful, elegant and comfortable and very individual.

Getting there: P&O Stena Line (0870 2424999) has crossings daily between Portsmouth and Le Havre from £180 return.

Lynda Baron stars in Diggity, a children's adventure film released this Christmas.

Lynda Baron stars in Diggity, a children's adventure film released this Christmas.