Charley Boorman: “In 20 years of travel, we’ve learned absolutely nothing”

Charley Boorman has spent more than two decades riding motorcycles across the world with his pal and Hollywood star Ewan McGregor. Long Way Round, Long Way Down, Long Way Up, Long Way Home… Hundreds of thousands of miles, countless breakdowns, and the kind of stories that only come from spending months on the road with your best mate.

This June, he’s bringing these stories to the ABR Festival. Not the TV edit. The real stuff. What went wrong, what didn’t make the cut, and what really happens behind the scenes on a Long Way ride.

But here’s the thing. Strip away the celebrity and the film crews, and Charley’s adventures aren’t that different from yours or mine. They’ve got the same buzz at the start, the same feeling when everything drops away and it’s just you, your bike, your mates, and the open road. The same stories told over a beer at the end of a long day in the saddle. That’s what the ABR Festival is built on, and that’s exactly why Charley fits right in.

The Same Road, Different Ride

One of the things that’s always set the Long Way series apart isn’t the distance or the destinations, it’s the dynamic between Ewan and Charley. And as Charley explains, even when you’re riding side by side, no two experiences are ever quite the same.

“You can both go down the same ribbon of tarmac or dirt road, and experience completely different things,” he says. “I’ll say, ‘Did you see that waterfall?’ and he’ll say, ‘No, but did you see that bend in the river?’”

It’s a simple idea, but it gets to the heart of why riding with others matters. You don’t just share the road, you expand it. It’s also exactly the kind of story that doesn’t make the final edit of a TV show, but it comes alive when Charley’s talking about it properly, rider to rider.

When Things Go Wrong And Why That’s the Point

It wouldn’t be a proper ride without a few things going sideways. For Long Way Home, that meant deliberately choosing classic bikes, older machines that were never going to make things easy.

“You’ve got an 80% chance of getting home because something always is going to happen,” Charley laughs. “But that’s what makes travelling interesting – the breakdowns, the people you meet, the things you bump into.”

Those are the moments you don’t always see in full on screen. The frustrations, the near misses, the stuff that turns into the best stories later. And they’re exactly the kind of behind-the-scenes tales Charley brings to life on stage, unfiltered, unrehearsed and often far funnier than you’d expect.

Still Learning (Or Not) After 20 Years

Despite decades of experience and over 20 years since Long Way Round first aired, some things haven’t changed. Like setting off at the start of Long Way Home in completely the wrong gear. “We were all in jeans, dressed for the bikes, not the weather,” Charley admits. “And then it rained for four weeks.”

It’s a reassuring reminder that no matter how experienced you are, riding has a way of keeping you honest. “In 20 years of travel, we’ve learned absolutely nothing,” he jokes.

The Real Reason They Keep Doing It

Strip everything back, the cameras, the logistics, the scale, and the appeal will strike a chord with every adventure biker. “It’s that wonderful feeling of freedom,” Charley says. “When you finally get to the start line and head out on the road…it’s three months of that.”

Freedom, connection, and a shared experience. The same reasons most people fall in love with riding in the first place, and the same reasons people come back to the ABR Festival year after year.

Don’t Just Watch It. Be There

Watching Long Way Home is one thing. Hearing Charley Boorman tell the stories behind it – what went wrong, what didn’t make the cut, and what it’s really like spending months on the road with your best mate – is something else entirely.

Charley joins Richard Hammond, Ted Simon, and over 80 more speakers at the ABR Festival, 26-28 June at Ragley Hall. He’ll be on the Bridgestone Stage on Friday and the Ducati Stage on Saturday.

This is the stuff you don’t get from a screen. Don’t miss it.

Get your ticket here and be part of the story.