Alistair Moffat: It will always be Florence for me

Alistair loves the pace of life in Tuscany, and says Disney World is great too.

He is a former Director of Programmes and the Chairman of Scottish Television. He previously ran the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for five years and helped establish it as one of the biggest art festivals in the world.

Born and raised in Kelso, he returned there after his STV days and founded the Borders Book Festival in Melrose which has become a major success.

He has written several history books with his latest, Bannockburn: The Battle For A Nation, out now in time for the 700th anniversary. Now 63, Alistair and wife Lindsay have three children, Adam, 34, Helen, 32 and Beth, 29.

He tells The Sunday Post his favourite holidays.

“Living in Kelso we used to spend our childhood holidays at Spittle, near Berwick-on-Tweed. Because it was in England it seemed like crossing a cultural frontier with the different accents.

“This was in the late ’50s and early ’60s and I can always remember the Woolworths, which seemed like a gigantic shop, selling little lead toy soldiers.

“Because it was a garrison town with so many war connections, it was fantastic for a kid. But the place which has been closest to my heart for most of my life is Tuscany.

“I was lucky when I was at St Andrews University that I did a course that required you to spend a term at the University of Florence.

“It was all paid for as I could never have afforded to go. I learned Italian and fell in love with Tuscany. Subsequently, after the kids were born, we’d drive there and find a little place with a pool.

“It was, and is, the best holiday destination in the world for me by miles. I’ve written a book about the history of Tuscany and in 2003 we bought a little house there in one of the hilltop towns, Pitigliano.

“It’s an idyllic place. I find the rhythm of the day really attractive. I’m an early riser and I’ll get up to the sounds of people’s little motorbikes revving up and the shutters rattling up on the shops.

“The sun splits the sky early and I’ll buy a big cup of coffee and a pastry, get the Italian papers and sit and have breakfast when everyone else is still asleep.

“There’s always a long lunch and then people will work until seven or eight when there’s a lovely thing called ‘the hour of the walk’. Everyone gets dressed up and goes for a stroll to the cafes and bars before a late dinner.

“The rhythm of it all is so different from Scotland. When I went to Florence in 1972 we had a B&B right in the middle and it was fantastic.

“Now it’s absolutely mobbed, and you shuffle through the Piazza della Signoria. It’s not a pleasure anymore. Other cities such as Sienna are far more congenial.

“The other place I like couldn’t be more different Disney World. When I was at STV we made the Disney Club and every year Disney would invite me and my family to go out and stay with them.

“My kids adored it and one of the girls still has a Mickey Mouse doll. It was just great and any adult that says they don’t like Disney World is lying.”