Long Way Down and Round in Print

The adventures of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman have again been captured on film and in a personal diary-style book, both of which will be available in Australia in time for Christmas.

The adventures of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman have again been captured on film and in a personal diary-style book, both of which will be available in Australia in time for Christmas.

‘Long Way Down’ reprises the success of 2004’s ‘Long Way Round’, though this time around, er, down, the boys are mounted on the latest BMW R 1200 GS Adventures and are travelling south. Starting in John O’Groats, Scotland and travelling through Europe and edging a security-conscious path through strife-stricken Africa, the pair made it more or less in one piece to Cape Town, South Africa. They travelled through 18 countries and covered exactly 23,358.7 km in an epic three month journey.

The story of their trip is hallmarked by humour and honesty despite testing conditions that proved their endurance, riding skills, friendship, as well as their unique methods of completing border crossings without being shot or arrested. Charley’s desire to complete each border crossing on one wheel may not have helped either. On 1 November, 2007, Sphere will publish ‘Long Way Down’, priced at $35.

The book chronicles an eventful start to the fun, after Ewan broke his leg in London just weeks before the trip was due to start, and follows the pair through their own eyes, as they make friends through Africa as well as visit UNICEF establishments there. On 2 December, 2007, EMI Music will release the TV series ‘Long Way Down’ on DVD. Featuring around six and a half hours of inspiring visuals from countries such as Libya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Rwanda and South Africa, the ‘Long Way Down’ DVD also includes a number of extras such as extended footage (over the broadcast series footage), a photo gallery, and an interactive route map.

"’Long Way Down’ has been an amazing journey and it has been a real privilege to be able to experience these diverse and beautiful places," Ewan McGregor said. "We’ve had the opportunity to see such different ways of life to ours and have travelled to remote places very few people have access to. The sense of freedom and exploration has been incredible."

‘Long Way Down’ will be available from select BMW Dealers and good book stores.