Long Way Down is a documentary film about the incredible adventure of the famous actor Ewan McGregor and his friend, TV presenter Charley Boorman. The journey they took on their motorcycles was meant to be a great pleasure and draw attention to the problems of children living on the African continent. The friends coped with both tasks brilliantly, which is why the film turned out great. Let’s study this incredible adventure and learn its interesting information.
Who is Ewan McGregor?
The creator of the idea and organizer of Long Way Down was the Scottish actor Ewan McGregor. He is one of the most successful representatives of his profession in the UK. His awards are so long that it would take a long time to list them all. The Golden Globe Award and Primetime Emmy Award should be highlighted among the main achievements of Ewan McGregor’s acting career.
McGregor’s filmography is complete with diverse roles. This makes him a genuine all-rounder who can create any desired image on the set. Among the most famous films in which Ewan starred, the following should be highlighted: Trainspotting, Moulin Rouge!, Black Hawk Down, Big Fish, Angels and Demons and Star Wars prequels. McGregor also became famous for his directorial work. In addition to cinema, Ewan was fond of theater. There, he played leading roles in several famous productions, once again proving his status as one of the most versatile creative personalities.
Ewan McGregor has been fond of motorcycles since childhood. For a long time, he used them as his main hobby. However, in 2004, the famous actor participated in the Long Way Round project. It involved traveling on a motorcycle through dozens of countries worldwide to attract the international community’s attention to various UNICEF programs. In 2007, the successful project was continued by the Long Way Down trip, and in 2020 – Long Way Up. McGregor made all these adventures on a motorcycle as part of various charity missions. Since 2004, he has been collaborating with UNICEF and helping to promote the ideas of this organization. He succeeds in this magnificently, for which, 20 years ago, Ewan McGregor was awarded the status of ambassador of the British branch of UNICEF.
Long Way Down route
Ewan McGregor’s journey followed a pre-planned route. It included a relatively short trip across Europe, after which the motorcyclists had to get to Africa and ride it all from North to South. The total length of the route was 24 thousand km, which they managed to cover in 3 months. Due to the poor quality of African roads, a motorcycle initially seemed far from the best choice. However, this circumstance did not hinder McGregor and his team. At the same time, the optimal transport for such a route is an SUV or a Gran Turismo class car. Today, they can be found at online auctions, where they put up crashed Porsche 911 for sale and popular models of cars, motorcycles and other vehicles.
The incredible adventure of Ewan McGregor and his team began in Europe, namely in the small Scottish village of John o’Groats, which is located in the county of Caithness. From this place, they went to London on their motorcycles. The road took 4 days, which were quite productive. Next, the Ewan McGregor team crossed the English Channel using the famous underwater tunnel. Once in France, they immediately went to Italy, in the south of which the European part of the journey ended. From Sicily, the motorcyclists moved to Tunisia. For this, they used a ferry that took Ewan McGregor and his friends to the north of Africa.
The African part of the motorcycle adventure began in Tunisia and continued in Libya. Then, the travel route took McGregor and his team to Egypt. After a short stay in the Land of the Pharaohs, the motorcyclists went to neighboring Sudan. They did this by land and water (the Red Sea). The ferry delivered the travelers to one of the most unpredictable places in Africa, from where they gradually reached Ethiopia. The next stage was Kenya. It was on its territory that the Ewan McGregor team crossed the equator. After that, the travelers successively visited Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Malawi. Ewan McGregor was joined by his wife Eve on the latter. The final leg of the African adventure was a visit to Zambia, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. The final point of the route was the southernmost point of Africa – Cape Agulhas. Throughout the trip, McGregor and his companions made many stops. They visited famous locations, enjoyed the beauty and grandeur of historical sites, and participated in various charity projects.
Problems and solutions found
Throughout the journey, Ewan McGregor and his team faced various problems—quite a few of them, despite careful preparation. The first serious problem was the ban on American team members visiting Libya. Its appearance was predicted in advance, so only British motorcyclists visited this country. The Americans skipped this part of the adventure and joined the team in Egypt, where they got there by air.
The severe following problem was delays at the borders. In some cases, they had to wait several hours, which is why the motorcyclists had to make up for lost time constantly. This approach allowed them to follow the schedule and complete the trip on time. If there were minimal problems with crossing borders in the northern part of Africa, then they increased as they moved south. However, this did not stop the members of the Ewan McGregor team, who were able to reach the end point of the route successfully.
The poor quality of African roads led to regular breakdowns of motorcycles. Most often, this was due to the need to constantly cross sandy and muddy areas, as well as small streams and rivers. The shock absorbers suffered greatly from prolonged exposure. On some vehicles, many other structural elements failed. Once, this led to the fact that one of the motorcycles had to be sent for repairs, and the team member Ewan McGregor riding it had to be temporarily transferred to a support vehicle. Falls also often occurred, which did not bypass even the wife of the famous British actor. Fortunately, none led to severe injuries and did not force the travelers to stop their African adventure.
Another serious problem was the adverse weather conditions that periodically hampered Ewan McGregor and his team. During their adventure, the motorcyclists faced intense heat, high humidity, dust storms and other troubles. They found a practical solution for each of these problems, thanks to which they completed the motorcycle journey.
Charity mission
Ewan McGregor’s journey was planned to draw attention to the problems of children living on the African continent. This charitable mission was fully realized thanks to the cooperation of the famous actor and his friend Charley Boorman with UNICEF. As part of the joint project, the travelers could visit various children’s institutions (mainly educational and health care) in Ethiopia, Uganda, Malawi and other countries and raise many vital issues.
Each meeting of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman with children helped highlight a particular region’s key problems. Among them were access to clean water, medicine, education, and protection of children’s rights. The journey participants attracted much attention to all these aspects and gave hope to the young Africans for a brighter future.
Ewan McGregor is a famous actor and an excellent motorcyclist. Combining these two radically different aspects of his personality, he overcame Africa and attracted the attention of people around the world to the problems of local children. His route was full of dangers and various troubles. However, the presence of a friend and other team members nearby made it possible to complete the journey. It allowed many ideas to be realized within the framework of the charity mission.