Real Housewife of Cheshire Ampika Pickston thinks the Far East is glam, but Llandudno lives on

AMPIKA PICKSTON, 35, is one of the colourful characters in ITVBe’s Real Housewives Of Cheshire.

She was married to multimillionaire businessman Mark Pickston, but they are now divorced.

Ampika, who has a son Jake, 10, runs a hair and beauty business and is writing a book due out early next year.

Real Housewives Of Cheshire is on ITVBe on Mondays at 10pm

I’VE done a lot of travelling and have been to some very unusual and beautiful places in the world.

But my fondest memories as a child were doing things in my home county of Lancashire with my grandfather.

They were days to the seaside at Blackpool and Llandudno or bus trips where it’s the sweet shop visits I remember.

As far removed from those days as possible was a two-month cruise of the Far East with my ex-husband.

We started in Thailand, did Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, Cambodia, so many places.

I found it an absolutely wonderful experience because it was so stress-free.

We had our own private butler, so once I was on the ship there was nothing to do, not even unpack.

At some ports we’d be there for two or three days and we’d stay in a hotel on shore and get a bit more of a true experience of the place.

My mother’s from Thailand, so I have heritage from the Far East, but I’m a massive fan of Europe.

It has culture, lifestyle and beauty that I find appealing. You have everything from fabulous beaches to historic buildings that really aren’t that far away.

I’m quite outdoorsy and I’ve done lots of rambling in Switzerland.

I really love fishing and competitions have taken me all over the world.

I found a love for it when I first met my ex-husband and we used to do as a pastime together. Now it’s something I do with Jake.

Sometimes the places have been glamorous.

We went to the Maldives and fished for four days.

But I just love Scotland. I got married in Dornoch Cathedral, with another ceremony in Skibo Castle where Madonna and Guy Ritchie were married.

Away from all the fancier side of things, though, I’m just blown away by the beauty of Scotland and I love to go back.

I feel totally at peace there.

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