Known during his famous career as ‘Mr Motor Racing’, Sir Stirling Moss OBE is arguably the greatest all-round racing driver of all time. In 1948, at the age of 18, he became a professional driver, racing a Cooper 500, and went on to race over 80 different types of car, across all classes of motor sport, for the likes of Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz.

Out of 529 competitive races throughout his remarkable racing career, he won an astounding 212. His victory in the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix is still regarded as one of the best Formula One races ever. A near-fatal accident at Goodwood in 1962 marked the end of it all.

On retiring from competitive motor racing at 32, Sir Stirling focused on his commercial interests, principally his property business, which he still runs today with his family. He was awarded an OBE in 1959, starred in the James Bond film Casino Royale in 1967 and was knighted in 2000. One of the original jet-setters, he remains an icon of the racing world. The legendary Sir Stirling Moss talks to Angela West about his travels and his home across the pond.

Where is your all-time favourite holiday destination?
I’m different to most because we normally take a holiday on the way to or back from somewhere. I like to incorporate it with a working holiday. One of my favourites is Bangkok. It’s terribly hot and unbearably humid but the people are lovely, the food and service are very good and it’s a nice place to be.

Where have you travelled that you would never want to go back to?
Morocco. We made the fatal mistake of going to one of those Club Med places. I think we were the wrong age and didn’t enjoy it at all.

Who is your ideal travelling companion?
My wife.

Who would you least like to travel with?
A chatterbox with bad breath who invades your area. I find it very disconcerting when people come along and ‘move in’.

What’s your favourite holiday reading material?
I wish I could get into books because it would be wonderful for those boring times like queuing at customs. I’m not much of a reader, though…I’d rather wait until they’ve made it into a film. When I do read, it’s James Patterson.

What do you never get on a plane without?
My passport (on one occasion, it wasn’t where it should be, it was in another case, so there was a real panic), whatever I’m working on at the time, say my drawings, and my ‘woolly feet’ (thick socks!)

What is your preferred holiday type?
A cruise. The less walking I have to do the better and I don’t like sand. So, a cruise is the answer. I like to stay aboard, even at ports of call. Seabourn cruises have fantastic food, wonderful service, very good accommodation and people don’t invade your space. Go on a good one. I find it’s very important to have good cuisine.

What is your earliest holiday memory?
Jaywick, Essex when I was very young with my mother and father. It was somewhere with a bit of beach and at night we’d come in and there’d be some man on a ghastly piano, singing. There was one song where he’d walk along with his ‘head’ tucked underneath his arm! I remember building sandcastles but there was never much point to it, really, and having boxing matches, which was always rather bad for me because I’m fairly chunky and would maybe put on weight, so at 5 stone I’d be fighting some kid 6 inches taller than me!

What are your favourite holiday memories?
Animals in Africa (Abu Camp elephant-back experience in the Okavango Delta. I sat on an elephant while my wife walked beside it!) and the cruise we particularly liked in the Orient; the service is so much better there.

Where would you go for the best cuisine?
I certainly do like good food, so the decent places in Bangkok or Hong Kong.

Hotel or holiday villa?
Hotel, for the service. Favourites include the Shangri-la, Peninsula and the Kahala Mandarin, Hawaii.

Travel guide or play it by ear?
(‘He’s pre-destined,’ interjects Sir Stirling’s wife, Susie. ‘He’d never go somewhere without a reservation or having checked it out. He loves researching destinations and always finds hotels with loads of facilities…17 swimming pools, 10 tennis courts, golf courses…they have to have all the kit, but he doesn’t swim or play tennis or golf, so doesn’t use any of it!’)

I sought Alan Whicker’s opinion on cruising and he suggested Seabourn.

Where would you recommend going for pure escapism?
(‘He wouldn’t go anywhere without a telephone or television,’ says Susie. ‘He gets bored very quickly so it’s much easier if the trip’s associated with business.’) I can switch off on a Seabourn. (‘It’s the only time he does!’ she adds. ‘Or on safari or when we used to go skiing.’) We really liked Lizard Island, Australia.

Do you speak another language?
Rudimentary French. I learnt it at school and at 18, we’d travel around Europe to racecourses speaking the language. My pronunciation is therefore better than my knowledge. I woke up from my coma speaking Italian! It’s a lovely language and probably the nicest and easiest to learn.

Where do you have overseas property?
Aventura, Florida, near Fort Lauderdale, but we’re now looking to buy in Arizona. The Floridian climate is very hot and humid, not very pleasant. We enjoy the sun and think we’d be more suited to the climate in Arizona.

(‘He can’t resist buying places! He always wants to build a house somewhere. He was thinking about Thailand, but it’s such a long flight, and Spain, but the winters wouldn’t be warm enough’, says Susie).

If it was more secure, South Africa would be wonderful as it’s a lovely country and there’s only a one-hour time difference.

Any tips for readers buying in the States?
There are a lot of benefits to buying there. We speak the same language, for a start, and if you hire a builder, say, their law is based on ours. Understand your Home Owners’ Association or your Condo’s Association. Many people buy in gated communities and the Condos Associations are very powerful and can be a real pain in the neck. Check that they’re reasonable.

What is your favourite Grand Prix circuit?
Monaco. It’s very exciting because the people are so close and, in my day, it was 100 laps long. Now it’s a lot less. It used to take 3¾ hours, a good length for a Grand Prix. It’s probably the circuit that drivers enjoy more than any other.

Have you considered buying in Monaco, like other Formula One drivers?
Oh good Lord, no! There’s always some massive event on which means you can’t get around or into hotels.

(‘We’re not rich enough!’ adds Susie.)

What is your favourite travel gadget?
The compass I wear around my neck. It’s very useful when you’re looking at property as it’s nice to know which way’s north, where the sun’s going to set and so on.

What is your craziest travel memory?
A mad dash across Europe taking in 15 countries in five days, a publicity thing for the Rootes Group which don’t exist now. This was in the early 50’s, when it was quite an achievement.

What is your idea of paradise?
Being on board a Seabourn ship in the warm sunshine, cruising around the East, I don’t mind where it’s going as long as the weather’s decent.

Finally, any plans to enjoy a proper retirement?
Yes, but when I do that I’ll have a headstone! My motto is ‘Movement is tranquillity’. Life is for living, you know.