NEWS | Interview with Charley Boorman

Touratech brand ambassador Charley Boorman is one of the world's most prominent motorbike adventurers. We spoke to him about his first travelling experiences, his friendship with Ewan McGregor, and his latest project.

Charley, how did travelling start for you?

Well, I think I have my father to thank for this passion. He is a film director and has directed films such as ‘Deliverance’, ‘Excalibur’ and ‘Hope And Glory’. He travelled all over the world making films and always took my siblings and me with him. We travelled to all kinds of places - from South Carolina to the South Pacific, Brazil and California.

What is the first journey that you can consciously remember? What particularly impressed you?

The first trip I can consciously remember was our stay in South Carolina, where my father was filming ‘Deliverance’. He had rented a house there for our whole family. One day, Dad's driver took me for a drive in the car. When we got back to the film set, my father asked what I had been doing all day. I told him that the driver had taught me how to shoot out of the car window. At the age of five, I had sifted through a lot of letterboxes that afternoon.

What is the fascination of travelling for you?

Border crossings play a big role for me. When you travel overland and cross a border, everything changes. The colour of the asphalt, the signs, people's clothing, the architecture, the culture, the way shops work. For example: you can have a coffee in a small café in Sudan, and then when you go to Ethiopia to have a coffee there, it's completely different, if only because the people serve you differently. That's what I really love, these cultural differences.

You have done most of your travelling by motorbike. How did you get into motorcycling?

It all started when I was about six years old. I was in Ireland with Jason Connery, Sean Connery's son. Our fathers were shooting a film there called ‘Zardoz’. There was a Honda Monkey in the garage. We spent hours trying to get the bike running – and eventually we did. Jason, who is about a year and a half older than me, was the first to ride, then he gave me a chance. I remember racing around the neighbourhood until I fell quite hard. Nevertheless, I thought to myself: ‘This is what I want to do!’ When I was about nine years old, I met Tommy Rochford. He had a Maico 400, which was just the most fantastic motorbike at the time, and I persuaded him to let me ride it. I could barely touch the footrests, so he had to put it in first gear. I rode round and round a field until I fell off again.

What were the most formative experiences on your first motorbike trip?

Of course, I had already done a few motorbike tours, such as weekend trips or a trip to the Alps. But I'd never been in the saddle for more than three or four days. Then came ‘Long Way Round’. We travelled from London to New York. Always heading east - through Europe, Eastern Europe, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Siberia, the Russian Far East, Alaska, Canada, America and then finally to New York. There was always the feeling: ‘Will we make it? What's next?’ Actually, everything was always open. This feeling was the driving force behind all my subsequent journeys.

How did you meet Ewan McGregor?

Well, my acting career somehow went wrong because I'm dyslexic. I find it hard to learn lines and work on a film set. There was a period of 10 years where I didn't really do many films. During that time, I met Ewan on the set of a film called ‘The Serpent's Kiss’. Ewan and I became instant friends and have remained so ever since. That was 30 years ago now. One of the things we have in common is our passion for motorbikes. We even had a motorbike racing team together for a while in the British Superstock and British Superbike Series. We were successful, we even won a championship.

Where did the idea for ‘Long Way Round’ come from?

Ewan had the idea. I thought it was a great project, but I didn't really have the money for such a trip. 5,000 pounds in the bank was all I had at the time. Ewan didn't want to accept that objection and was convinced that we would find a way. Eventually I was able to negotiate with Russ and Dave, the producers, that I would receive a weekly salary so that my wife and children could support themselves at home while I was away.

When you look at the spirit of travelling: Where do you see the main differences between your numerous motorbike trips and ‘By Any Means’?

Russ and I had the idea for By Any Means over a few bottles of wine at the last MotoGP race in Valencia a few years ago. On the back of a boarding pass, we sketched out the idea of travelling from London to Sydney. Using all possible means of transport: Bikes, cars, lorries, boats, elephants, tuk-tuks, you name it. It was a crazy adventure. And I love that. Everything was just completely different from the motorbike trips. But one aspect is the same on all trips: the really lasting memories are the experiences with the people I met along the way.

You have been working with Touratech for over two decades. How did the contact come about?

Like so many motorbike adventurers around the world, I had the thick Touratech catalogue at home. Whenever I sat on the toilet, I would leaf through this ‘bible’ for ages. When we started the preparations for ‘Long Way Round’, we contacted Touratech and explained what we had in mind. To our surprise, Touratech was immediately on board. I'll never forget when this box with all the Touratech material arrived at our office where we were setting up the bikes. It was like Christmas!

Since then, the relationship with Touratech has always remained close. Touratech helped build my Dakar motorbike, then we worked with Touratech for ‘Long Way Down’ and we have always realised joint projects.

You've already ridden a few Adventure Country Tracks. What about them appeals to you?

My first adventure country track was the ACT UK. For the film production, we drove through the Peak District and Wales and then to the Isle of Man. It was a magical journey. I joined the project through Harley-Davidson and then met the team with Mirko, Elvio and Martin. We sat down together after the shoot and they asked if I would like to get more involved in the project. And that's what I did. It's fun to give something back to the scene, to give a bit of time to offer great tracks to people who want to have their own adventure and to make a film so people can see what's out there. I'm very proud to be part of Adventure Country Tracks.

Can you tell us anything about your new film project with Ewan McGregor?

Unfortunately, I can't tell you too much about this project yet. ‘Long Way Home’ has been shot, but won't be released until autumn 2025. Just this much: we travelled from Ewan's house in Scotland via Scandinavia, Eastern and Central Europe to my house in England. It's incredible what adventures we've had almost on our doorstep.

In any case, it was great fun to be on the road again with Ewan and this time travelling on old motorbikes, which in itself brings all kinds of wonderful experiences. Once again, we learnt how friendly and generous people are all over the world.

‘Finally, I would like to wish all readers  ‘Bon voyage’. Get travelling and have your own adventures!’