Charley Boorman

Ewan McGregor

Jeff Gulvin

After their fantastic trip round the world in 2004, fellow actors and bike fanatics Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman couldn't shake the travel bug. And after an inspirational UNICEF visit to Africa, they knew they had to go back and experience this extraordinary continent in more depth. And so they set off on their 15,000-mile journey with two new BMWs loaded up for the trip. Joining up with producer/directors Russ Malkin and David Alexanian and the Long Way Round team, their route took them from John O'Groats at the northernmost tip of Scotland to Cape Agulhas on the southernmost tip of South Africa. Riding through spectacular scenery, often in extreme temperatures, Ewan and Charley faced their hardest challenges yet. With their trademark humour and honesty they tell their story - the drama, the dangers and the sheer exhilaration of riding together again, through a continent filled with magic and wonder.

Long Way Down

Longtime friends and bike enthusiasts McGregor and Boorman wowed international audiences with their first major motorcycle journey that spanned several continents, captured in the book and television show Long Way Round. Now they are back, with the fascinating account of their second, equally ambitious journey: from the northernmost tip of Scotland, across Europe and down through Africa ending in Cape Town, this is the account of the authors' three month journey across two continents, over difficult terrain and in unpredictable conditions. Their route covers Britain, Italy, Switzerland, Tunisia, the Sudan, Rwanda, Botswana, and Namibia, among other countries; and they stop in cities and villages along the way to experience the European and African cultures firsthand. Featuring diary entries, travel maps, mileage charts, and dozens of color photographs.--From publisher description.

An Epic Journey by Motorcycle from Scotland to South Africa

Lola

Robert Uhlig

From London to New York, Ewan and Charley chased their shadows through Europe, the Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russia, across the Pacific to Alaska, then down through Canada and America. But as the miles slipped beneath the tyres of their big BMWs, their troubles started. Exhaustion, injury and accidents tested their strength. Treacherous roads, unpredictable weather and turbulent politics challenged their stamina. They were chased by paparazzi in Kazakhstan, courted by men with very large guns in the Ukraine, hassled by the police, and given bulls' testicles for supper by Mongolian nomads. And yet despite all these obstacles they managed to ride more than twenty thousand miles in four months, changing their lives forever in the process. As they travelled they documented their trip, taking photographs, and writing diaries by the campfire. Long Way Round is the result of their adventures - a fascinating, frank and highly entertaining travel book about two friends riding round the world together and, against all the odds, realising their dream.

Chasing Shadows Across the World

Long Way Round

Sian Wadey

Author B in my A-Z was Charley Boorman although it says that Long Way Round was just written by Ewan McGregor. 
I'm a fan of both actors but I've never seen the TV show so I went into this with a fresh mind not really knowing what to expect. And can I say it was the biggest disappointment.
Both authors moaned, whined and cried their way around the globe. I know it must be hard to miss those you live with constantly, but they were crying when they left and cried during a lot of the journey. When they weren't crying they were moaning about the conditions of the road, which they should have expected and each other. 
On top of that it was hard to tell which of them were narrating. Their writing styles were very similar and when events happened they were brushed under the carpet. Nothing was explained in much detail. In fact more time was spent complaining about the state of the roads.
In Ewan McGregor's sections he would constantly 'film drop' mentioning what he'd been in as well as any encounter when someone recognised him from a film. Although I like him as an actor, I didn't really care about that in this context and when he started worrying about his career I skipped large chunks of text. 
There were a few bits I enjoyed when there was a lot of tension, or funny moments, which it should have been for the majority of the book in my opinion, which is why I'm giving it two instead of one. But overall it was a complete and utter let down. I don't think I'll be reading one of their books again.

This biography details motorcycle adventurer Charley Boorman's recovery from a major road traffic accident in 2016. On February 16 2016, motorcycle adventurer Charley Boorman suffered a major road traffic accident in Portugal. Having spent the better part of his life on some form of motorbike, his world came crashing down after he was knocked off a Triumph Tiger Explorer, smashing his right ankle and causing severe damage to his left fibia and tibia. It was unclear if he would ever walk properly again, let alone ride a motorbike. Moving between past and present, Long Way Back recounts Charley's journey back of recovery, the ambulance ride, the numerous operations in a Portuguese hospital, the medivac aircraft flight back to London. In alternating chapters, as his inability to walk for several months provokes introspection, Boorman recounts his childhood, where his passion for motorbikes began, and the formative influences in his life--from his father, a touring film director, to his long-time friend Ewan McGregor, and Sean Connery's son Jason, who first introduced him to bikes. As Charley struggles to cope with this potentially life-changing situation, it is these touchstones who will give him strength on the long way back to health.

Long Way Down

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