''Long Way Down'' is a television series and book documenting a
motorcycle
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: Long-distance ...
journey undertaken in 2007 by
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British ...
and
Charley Boorman
Charley Boorman (born 23 August 1966) is a British TV presenter, travel writer and actor. A motorbike enthusiast, Boorman has made three long-distance motorcycle rides with his friend Ewan McGregor, documented in ''Long Way Round'' (2004), ''Lo ...
, from
John o' Groats in Scotland through eighteen countries in Europe and Africa to
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
in South Africa. It is a follow-up to the ''
Long Way Round
''Long Way Round'' (''LWR'') is a British television series and book documenting the journey of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman from London to New York City on motorcycles. They travelled eastwards through Europe and Asia, flew to Alaska, ...
'' of 2004, when the pair rode east from London to New York via
Eurasia
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelag ...
and North America.
The journey started on 12 May and finished on 4 August 2007. They were accompanied by the same key team members from ''Long Way Round'', including cameraman and director of photography
Claudio Von Planta and cameraman Jimmy Simak (who also oversaw music supervision and soundtrack production), and producers
Russ Malkin
Russ Malkin is a British TV producer, director and founder of Big Earth Productions. He has created documentaries and formats for many broadcasters globally including BBC, ITV, Sky, National Geographic, Amazon and Discovery. Often working with hi ...
and
David Alexanian
David Alexanian (born December 10, 1967) is an American director and producer of Armenian descent. He is the CEO of Elixir Films, which he co-founded with his sister Alexis Alexanian.
''Where The Red Fern Grows''
After filming Eric Bogosian's ...
. They also decided to travel with medic Dai Jones, cameraman and security officer Jim Foster, and various "fixers"—local guides and interpreters. They rode the
BMW R1200GS Adventure, the successor to the
R1150GS Adventure bikes in ''Long Way Round''.
As with their previous trip, and Boorman's ''
Race to Dakar'',
Russ Malkin
Russ Malkin is a British TV producer, director and founder of Big Earth Productions. He has created documentaries and formats for many broadcasters globally including BBC, ITV, Sky, National Geographic, Amazon and Discovery. Often working with hi ...
's company Big Earth produced the series. The television series began broadcast on
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...
on 28 October 2007, with clips also shown online. The series was added to
Apple TV+
Apple TV+ is an American subscription streaming service owned and operated by Apple Inc. Launched on November 1, 2019, it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service was announced ...
on 18 September 2020 along with the first iteration ''
Long Way Round
''Long Way Round'' (''LWR'') is a British television series and book documenting the journey of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman from London to New York City on motorcycles. They travelled eastwards through Europe and Asia, flew to Alaska, ...
'' (2004) and sequel ''
Long Way Up
''Long Way Up'' is a British television series which debuted 18 September 2020, documenting a motorcycle journey undertaken in 2019 by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, from Ushuaia in Argentina through South and Central America to Los Angeles i ...
'' (2020).
Route
The team travelled from their base in
Shepherd's Bush
Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan.
Although primarily residential in character ...
,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, to
John o' Groats at the northern tip of Scotland to begin their journey. The start was nearly delayed after Boorman, frustrated by an official at
Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after ...
, made an off-the-cuff comment regarding bombs and was detained for questioning. After being released without charge, he took a later flight to
Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histor ...
, and the journey began as scheduled. The team took four days to ride from John o' Groats back to London, via the McGregor family home in
Crieff
Crieff (; gd, Craoibh, meaning "tree") is a Scottish market town in Perth and Kinross on the A85 road between Perth and Crianlarich, and the A822 between Greenloaning and Aberfeldy. The A822 joins the A823 to Dunfermline. Crieff has becom ...
and the
Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and ...
racetrack, where they camped in the middle of the circuit. They took the
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel (french: Tunnel sous la Manche), also known as the Chunnel, is a railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles ( Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover ...
to France and rode south to Italy. The European leg ended in
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
, where they caught a ferry to
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
.
In Tunisia, McGregor and Boorman visited the set of ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...
'' and then rode into
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
. However, American producer David Alexanian and cameraman Jimmy Simak were unable to obtain the necessary entry visas and were forced to fly from Tunisia to
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
. After visiting the pyramids, they boarded a ferry to
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
, continued into
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
and then into
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
, where they crossed the equator. From Kenya, they rode to
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The ...
and then
Rwanda
Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
, where they had an audience with President
Paul Kagame
Paul Kagame (; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who is the 4th and current president of Rwanda since 2000. He previously served as a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Uganda-based rebel ...
. They went from there to
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
and then into
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northe ...
, where they were joined by Ewan McGregor's wife Eve. The final leg took them through
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...
,
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
,
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kal ...
and into South Africa. The journey ended at
Cape Agulhas
Cape Agulhas (; pt, Cabo das Agulhas , "Cape of the Needles") is a rocky headland in Western Cape, South Africa.
It is the geographic southern tip of the African continent and the beginning of the dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian ...
, the southernmost point of the continent, from where they were accompanied to
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
by a phalanx of bikers, similar to their arrival in New York on the ''Long Way Round''.
Border crossings
The team anticipated problems at the various borders crossings, particularly in Africa. Given their experiences on the ''Long Way Round'', which included problems with Russian visas, a "fine" for a missing stamp in their
carnet, and delays of up to twelve hours, major preparation and planning went into the transit between countries. Although the American crew members were barred from entering Libya, this was anticipated ahead of their arrival. Upon arrival in Tunisia, the team bribed the local authorities with a few bottles of
vodka
Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuriti ...
to aid their passage into the country. It was assumed this would become a regular occurrence while travelling through Africa. However, although delays of a few hours were common, there were few significant problems at crossing points as they travelled further south.
Breakdowns and accidents
The quality of road surfaces throughout east Africa were surprisingly smooth, but sections were rough, bumpy or had sandy terrain, with some travel through a small river and
mud wallow. The
shock absorbers
A shock absorber or damper is a mechanical or hydraulic device designed to absorb and damp shock impulses. It does this by converting the kinetic energy of the shock into another form of energy (typically heat) which is then dissipated. Most s ...
bore the brunt, with both McGregor's and von Planta's bikes suffering broken springs. As the only spare had been fitted to McGregor's bike, von Planta rode in a support vehicle while his bike was sent ahead for repair. McGregor and von Planta also came off and damaged their bikes' bodywork, with von Planta involved in the more serious incident on a motorway in South Africa. Boorman admitted he had been "putting on a show" for a roadside garage and braked sharply as part of a maneuver. Von Planta says he was riding too closely and fell while avoiding a collision; he was shaken but uninjured. His motorcycle was substantially damaged, and the footage of the rest of the journey to
Cape Agulhas
Cape Agulhas (; pt, Cabo das Agulhas , "Cape of the Needles") is a rocky headland in Western Cape, South Africa.
It is the geographic southern tip of the African continent and the beginning of the dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian ...
appears only to include support vehicle and helmet cam footage, suggesting that Von Planta's motorcycle was no longer used. McGregor's wife, Eve, who learned to ride only for the journey, joined them partway and took several falls on sandy terrain in Malawi and Zambia, apparently without injury.
UNICEF
During the trip, the pair visited three
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to c ...
facilities to promote the work done by the organisation.
In Ethiopia, they visited a
land mine
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
awareness project and met children injured by mines. In Uganda, they met former child soldiers of the
Lord's Resistance Army
The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), also known as the Lord's Resistance Movement, is a rebel group and heterodox Christian group which operates in northern Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the ...
and saw the work being done to rehabilitate them. In Malawi, they visited care centres for children orphaned by
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...
. Both McGregor and Boorman had visited such centres in Africa previously.
Music
The title song was performed by Welsh group
Stereophonics and is identical to the ''
Long Way Round
''Long Way Round'' (''LWR'') is a British television series and book documenting the journey of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman from London to New York City on motorcycles. They travelled eastwards through Europe and Asia, flew to Alaska, ...
'' theme, with the lyric "round" replaced with "down".
The soundtrack features music drawn substantially from the catalogue of
Real World Records
Real World Records is a British record label specializing in world music. It was founded in 1989 by English musician Peter Gabriel and original members of WOMAD. A majority of the works released on Real World Records feature music recorded ...
, which produced the accompanying album. Co-director of photography Jimmy Simak also acted as music supervisor and soundtrack producer for the series.
Broadcast schedule
The original broadcast dates in the United Kingdom were:
Future trips
In the final pages of the ''Long Way Down'' book, there is a mention of "Long Way To Go"; however, this is not the intended title for a third series but a reference to the continual support that
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to c ...
needs for its work. In the DVD extras, while preparing the bikes for cargo, Ewan McGregor refers to a possible future trip in South America, perhaps called ''
Long Way Up
''Long Way Up'' is a British television series which debuted 18 September 2020, documenting a motorcycle journey undertaken in 2019 by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, from Ushuaia in Argentina through South and Central America to Los Angeles i ...
''.
On the ''Late Show'' with David Letterman (17 February 2010), McGregor said he was not planning another trip, because he found it difficult to be away from his family for such a long time, but he also mentioned wanting to do a trip from South to North America. In June 2015, McGregor indicated that the long-discussed South American trip was still at the planning stage, but he expected that an excursion through
Baja California Peninsula would take place first. In March 2017, during a Reddit AMA, Ewan said there were "no plans at the moment" to do a third installment of the series. On 6 August 2018, Boorman tweeted a tease that the ''Long Way Up'', a trip from Tierra del Fuego to Alaska, would happen "if all goes well". In June 2019, it was reported that Boorman confirmed that the filming of a third installment would begin "in a few months".
On 27 May 2020, it was announced that the series ''
Long Way Up
''Long Way Up'' is a British television series which debuted 18 September 2020, documenting a motorcycle journey undertaken in 2019 by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, from Ushuaia in Argentina through South and Central America to Los Angeles i ...
'' would premiere on
Apple TV+
Apple TV+ is an American subscription streaming service owned and operated by Apple Inc. Launched on November 1, 2019, it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service was announced ...
.
See also
*
List of long-distance motorcycle riders
Long-distance motorcyclists with Wikipedia articles, with tours in chronological order.
List of motorcycle riders and tours
References
Further reading
{{Motorcycles
Long-distance motorcycle riders, *
Long-distance motorcycle riders
Long ...
References
* ''Long Way Down'' (DVD), EMI / Elixir Productions, 2007.
*
External links
Official website*
*
{{Boorman McGregor Travel
2007 British television series debuts
2007 British television series endings
BBC television documentaries
Motorcycle television series
Motorcycle writing
Long-distance motorcycle riding
British travel television series
British travel books