Latest news with #LongWayHome
Daily Record
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Two stunning Scottish places Ewan McGregor says he is desperate to visit
McGregor returns to TV with Charley Boorman in Long Way Home, now streaming on Apple+. Ewan McGregor has journeyed across galaxies as Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars, but when it comes to his own homeland, there is still plenty he's desperate to discover. The Perthshire-born actor has returned to the small screen with long-time friend and travel companion Charley Boorman for Long Way Home, their latest motorbike adventure, now streaming on Apple+. This time, the pair ride from McGregor's Scottish base to Boorman's home in England, following a sprawling circular route through 15 countries across Europe, Scottish Daily Express reports. Their two-month journey kicks off with a crossing over the North Sea into Scandinavia, stretching up to the Arctic Circle, winding down through the Baltics and across continental Europe before finishing with a Channel crossing back to the UK. For the trip, McGregor rides a 1974 Moto Guzzi 850 El Dorado, once used by California police, while Boorman brings a 1972 BMW R75/5 back to life, an old bike previously written off as a 'rust heap'. It's the latest chapter in a globetrotting series that includes Long Way Round, Long Way Down and Long Way Up, but McGregor admits that no matter how far he travels, Scotland still calls to him. 'I will never feel like I have seen enough of Scotland. I love being there so much. There's whole swathes of it I've never been to,' the Trainspotting star told the BBC. 'I have done some islands but not by any means all of them, Orkney and Shetland, I've never been to. There are loads of places I still want to explore.' Despite years spent living in London and Los Angeles, McGregor returned to his roots in 2023, purchasing Glencarse House near Perth for £2.35 million. In the series, he receives a heartfelt send-off from the Morrison's Academy Pipe Band, where he once played the side drum as a schoolboy. Speaking about the show, Boorman, 58, revealed that McGregor often got emotional during their travels through Scotland. 'He would get misty eyed about Scotland,' he said. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. For McGregor, the experience was nothing short of transformative. 'I watched the first two episodes and I was thinking I'd like to go and do it again. It was a wonderful experience,' he said. 'In all the other trips we have had huge distances of riding for days and days, where the landscape never changed. But this, we had different countries coming at us every couple of days, we met people and saw specifically regional sports. 'In Holland we watched a pole vault-y thing over the canals, then we saw snowmobiles over water. It was nice and the whole idea of going to our house in Scotland to Charley's house in England was a funny idea, but it made sense.'
The Herald Scotland
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Has Ewan McGregor mellowed or is he still a Mr Grumpy Chops?
Back in 2004 they were just two skinny drifters on motorbikes, off to see the world, and what a lot of it there was to see in Long Way Round (London to New York), Down (John O'Groats to Capetown); and Up (Ushuaia in Argentina to LA. Now the pair are back with Long Way Home (Apple TV+). The route will take them from Scotland to England via 17 European countries. Like their chosen bikes, both men are now of a certain vintage, MAMILS in leather rather than Lycra, and in the case of Boorman with a long and painful history of repairs. For all those reasons and more - that title for a kick off - Long Way Home felt like a farewell. As McGregor said in the first episode, film companies don't like you heading off on motorbikes. Think of the insurance for a start. But here they were, Charley and Ewan, or Ewan and Charley if you prefer. It always seemed like McGregor was the alpha of the pair, the more charismatic but grumpier one. Now in his fifties, had time mellowed him? As the halfway point approached, the pair were in Norway, having been through Germany, Denmark, and Sweden. So far there had been no outbreak of the Victor Meldrews on McGregor's part, though he looked narked when a kid in Sweden pumped up the volume in his Volvo sound system. McGregor issued a word to the wise about hearing damage, but that was it. With megabucks Apple TV+ now running the show there had been an upgrade in everything. The stop-offs were more interesting, and the back-up consisted of a third-person motorcycle escort plus a small crew in two electric trucks. Apart from that, the pair are all alone out there (eye roll number two). Read more I shouldn't mock because the back-up was needed when someone took a slight spill which could have been much worse. 'It's a pleasure riding with you Ewan,' said Boorman. 'It's been a pleasure riding with you too Charley, as always,' came the reply. If this is the last hurrah they are going out in style and, in McGregor's case, in a most unspanner-like way. Safe home, boys. Scotland's Home of the Year (BBC1, Monday) has a reputation as a no-snark zone. So when a whiff of trouble enters paradise, as it did this week, it stands out like a broken window in a Bearsden cul-de-sac. The first contender for the Highlands and Islands top spot was Tiny Skye Cabin, a small but perfectly formed structure down a dirt path. The interior was a study in minimalism. On the floor was a brown, indeterminate animal skin. It could have come from a sheep or a small bear. At least it cosied the place up a little, unlike the 'sofa', which was a wooden bench. 'This is SO comfortable,' said Danny in what must surely be the first sarky remark in the show's history. Overall the extreme Ikea vibe was not cutting it with the judges. Oh, they praised aspects here and there, and judge Banjo caused giggles in the wet room when he 'accidentally' turned the shower on, but there was no getting away from it. The homeowners had committed the ultimate SHOTY crime of offences against soft furnishings - mainly by not having them. 'I feel like we're in Marie Kondo's house,' said judge Banjo, referencing the Netflix organising queen. 'She says throw it out if it doesn't spark joy. These guys have thrown a lot of stuff out.' Much more the judges' cuppa was An Cala Cottage on Skye. The traditional bungalow, home to Caroline, Lee, and their collie Nuala, had been transformed using colour, charity shop finds and a custom-made bookcase. 'It's simple and unapologetic, and maybe a bit scruffy. I quite like it,' said Danny. An Cala took first place. It was a cosy spot, but the score was the same as last week's modernist masterpiece in Central and Tayside. Do the two really compare? That's a battle for the final. Rose Ayling-Ellis is having a moment. Make that more than a moment. Since winning Strictly she hasn't put a foot wrong, and this week she took on her first lead role in the crime drama Code of Silence (STV, Sunday-Monday). It was an above-par piece by writer Catherine Moulton (Baptiste, Hijack), but by far the best thing about it was Ayling-Ellis. She played Alison Brooks, a young deaf woman washing pots in a local branch of His Majesty's constabulary in Canterbury, Kent. Called upstairs to CID one day, she was told 'all our lip readers are busy on other jobs' and would she mind helping out? There was no time to stop and ponder whether that would happen because too much else was going on. Like Alison, the viewer was dropped into the middle of a fast-moving investigation and had to crack on regardless. In another life, this clever young woman might be rising through the CID ranks herself instead of being paid minimum wage to help them out now and then. Not that Moulton, herself hearing-impaired, would be so crass as to point this out. Instead, the look on Alison's face said it all. Used to feeling invisible and excluded by her disability, she was now 'seen' and accepted. She could get used to this. 'I don't want to be hearing,' she said. 'I just want them to be a bit deaf.' The same lightness of touch was seen in the way Code of Silence handled lip-reading. As Alison watched, words and parts of words floated onto the screen before swimming into focus. Clarkson's Farm (Amazon Prime Video) returned for a fourth series. Confession time: I've never watched it. As a bunny-hugging veggie feminist Scot, I just assumed there was nothing in it I would enjoy and a lot that would irritate. But as a TV critic that lily-livered attitude will not do. The show is a global hit, with fans trekking from all over the world to Clarkson's Diddly Squat Farm in Chipping Norton to worship their beer-bellied God. Must be something in it, right? Which was how I came to spend an evening watching a young farmer lead a packed theatre in a singalong of The Combine Harvester (Brand New Key) and thinking the English were a weird lot. On stage was Kaleb Cooper, Clarkson's farm manager. In the new series, Kaleb has run off to join the showbiz circus, leaving Jezza on his tod. He was not happy. 'I'm thrilled to bits for Kaleb,' he said, fighting his way through the mud and rain to feed the pigs. 'I'm not a socialist. I want him to do well. I want him to make money. I want him one day to be able to buy his own farm. But he has left me a little bit in the lurch.' Scene after scene followed of Clarkson stuffing things up. When not out in the fields he was at his desk, filling in forms to get government money. He was like The Archers' Brian Aldridge, but useless. Help arrived in the form of Harriet, a young agency farmer. She was a tea person, Clarkson was coffee, but somehow they got along. Was there any chance they wouldn't? That said, the whole enterprise stands or falls on its central character. If you don't care for him, his earthy humour, his general jeans-wearing old fogey schtick, there was unlikely to be anything to detain you here. Tiny Skye Cabin was a masterclass in minimalism (Image: PHOTOGRAPHER:IWC Media) Long stretches of not very much happening followed. He ordered eight tractors to test-drive and they all turned up at once. I think it was supposed to be hilarious. I could have also done without the pigs going off to slaughter. But there were moments when he put all that 'stuff and nonsense' bluster to one side and came across as a decent sort, as when he and Harriet chat about farming's toll on mental health, particularly among young men. As for how much time I'd like to spend with him in future, not sure. If he gave up the meat and became more of a Paul and Linda McCartney, Mull of Kintyre-type farmer, maybe. But you can bet whatever farm you like - that's never going to happen.
The Independent
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
‘You have an 80% chance of getting there': Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman on the joy of riding old motorcycles
When the riding gets hard, we usually have the best time,' says , talking fondly about his latest big motorcycle journey with good friend Charley Boorman, forming the fourth series in their Long Way bike travel programmes, Long Way Home. 'That's when you start to laugh a lot. The harder it is, the more bizarrely funny it becomes,' adds Boorman. Returning to our screens this month, the familiar format sees the motorbike enthusiasts get back in the saddle for the 2025 instalment, which starts at McGregor 's house in Scotland and ends at Boorman's house in England. 'Obviously it's just the long way…round,' jokes McGregor, which sees them cover 17 countries. A trip that Boorman calls 'just a short detour'. 'We were on the trickiest terrain in Bolivia, it was probably our most challenging bit of riding,' explains McGregor, which is when the duo seem to have their best ideas, communicating via the mics in their helmets. 'While we're shaking through these rocks and trying to get through this sand and dirt, we started talking about Scandinavia and that would be an amazing part of the world to explore,' he adds. It seems to be a recurring theme. 'We start daydreaming about another trip because it makes it easier to stop the one you're on,' says McGregor, acknowledging there's part of them that 'never wants to stop being on the road. It's such an escape and an adventure'. In the latest series, which started on 9 May and its 10 episodes are drip-fed weekly, they cross 17 countries and rack up almost 10,000 miles. It sees them travel the Netherlands, the Baltic coast, Scandinavia, the Arctic circle, central Europe and back to the UK. Some of the highlights include the famous Lysevegen road with 17 hairpin bends that needs to be seen from above to be properly appreciated, visiting Charley's German family from his mother's side, meeting Vikings, crossing Norwegian fjords and experiencing the Arctic Circle's lack of sunset. Though, what's most impressive is that they're even able to continue the series, considering Boorman's two horrific bike accidents. It's only been since the start 2024 that he says he's 'felt normal and been able to walk again' after many operations and trauma that comes with such crashes and long recovery. In 2016, a crash badly broke both his legs, and he almost lost one. Thankfully, he didn't, but he did lose an inch from one leg. It resulted in 20 surgeries and almost two years to recover. Then, in 2018, after a far worse crash in South Africa, his only memory is waking up in hospital 24 hours later. He suffered a snapped forearm, a broken pelvis, he broke the entire left side of his ribs, a collapsed lung and a serious head injury, all of which took his operations total to 35. For many, that would be the end of their motorbiking career, yet it was the thought of getting back on a bike that kept Boorman going. Despite not being able to walk, he knew he'd be able to ride. For him, it helps improve his mental health too. With long periods of time on the road to think with few distractions, he says it allows him to really live in the present. It's their almost addiction to riding that keeps them returning to the saddle and to the series. Though it has plenty of positives for them both, this time, they've limited the journey to 10 weeks, setting off in June with a week in the middle where they're joined by the families in Helsinki. It's a stark contrast to the 4.5-month-long trips they used to do, when both had young children. 'The older you get, the less you want to be away,' says McGregor, unable to think how they managed to be away for so long for Long Way Round. 'I can't imagine that now,' he adds. As well as shortening the trip length, their bike choice changes with every trip. With a nod to nostalgia, they both opt for classic bikes. Ewan rides a 1974 Moto Guzzi Eldorado, a former US police patrol bike which still has the police siren which he likes to use perhaps a little too often. And Boorman finds a 1974 BMW R75/5 which when delivered to his home, is a little more rusty than he first thought, resulting in weeks of repair work done in just a few days to get it road-ready. The bike choice was also a chance for more freedom compared to Long Way Up, where they rather over ambitiously (considering how early it was for the technology) chose to ride electric bikes. It meant they were confined by unreliable charging, a lack of faster chargers and 'all sorts of fantastic difficulties,' says Boorman, including being unable to fix problems as easily themselves, though he says it 'made it interesting'. Following on from that journey, Long Way Home is more of a back-to-basics trip, more in line with the earlier series. They knew the roads would be far better than what they've been used to, such as the weeks of gravel roads in Northern Kenya or the crater-like potholes in Kazakhstan. So riding on smooth roads in Europe meant 'we had to make it harder for ourselves,' McGregor says, laughing. Admitting old bikes come with their problems too, Boorman says: 'You only have an 80 per cent chance of getting to where you want to'. But with breakdowns and small accidents, 'come the best parts of the trip,' thanks to the people you meet, which is one of the true joys of travelling. It's the unpredictability that you can't plan for that makes for the best experiences – and stories. Though they made it home without too many dings in the bikes (or themselves), the word 'home' in the title could be read as a nod to a finale of their travel programmes. Yet it sounds like there might be plenty more fuel in the proverbial tank for whichever road they choose next. 'I wouldn't say it's the end of the line,' says McGregor, with a slightly knowing smirk.
BBC News
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
'A long way home but I can't get enough of Scotland'
From Star Wars to Trainspotting – Ewan McGregor is no stranger to iconic his antics on the small screen have also stood the test of 20 years since the Perthshire actor first got on his bike with his best pal Charley the memorable trip to New York (via several continents) in Long Way Round the pair have covered dozens of countries in the Long Way Up and the Long Way on Apple TV+, the two men are taking the Long Way Home. And this time it's personal. "We're going from my house to Charley's house in England," McGregor told BBC Scotland would appear to be a simple journey, but it also takes in 15 European countries. And, according to Boorman, McGregor gets a misty look in most of them, then declares: "This looks like a bit of Scotland."The reason the series works is the lifelong friendship between the pair, playing out on can't believe he gets to keep having adventures with his friend."Seeing him in front of me or in the mirror, it's a real delight knowing that we are going off doing something we have a real passion and love for. "Doing that with your best mate is a nice feeling." McGregor adds: "This trip was amazing. I watched the first two episodes and I was thinking I'd like to go and do it again. It was a wonderful experience. "In all the other trips we have had huge distances of riding for days and days, where the landscape never changed. "But this, we had different countries coming at us every couple of days, we met people and saw specifically regional sports."In Holland we watched a pole vault-y thing over the canals, then we saw snowmobiles over water. "It was nice and the whole idea of going to our house in Scotland to Charley's house in England was a funny idea - but it made sense."One of the highlights was McGregor's send-off from his home in his father and uncle are all former members of Morrison's Academy Pipe Band which came to play the bikers off."It meant a lot to me, meant a lot to my dad to get the band out," said McGregor. In the programme, he said: "Massive band, isn't it? It was, like, nine of us in the band I was in."I used to be a side drummer in this band."My dad, before me, and my uncle. I come from a long line of drummers."Wait until they crack off, it gets the hairs on the back of your neck."McGregor is emotional about returning home. "It's home and it will always have that unique feeling for me."And now that he has a new house there, he wants to do more in Scotland."I will never feel like I have seen enough of Scotland. I love being there so much."There's whole swathes of it I've never been to. "I have done some islands but not by any means all of them - Orkney and Shetland, I've never been to. "There are loads of places I still want to explore."
Daily Mirror
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
James Martin shares three simple tips for cooking the perfect egg
ITV chef James Martin is back in the kitchen for another instalment of Saturday Morning where shared some egg hacks, including how to cook the perfect fried egg Celebrated TV chef James Martin returned to the kitchen for another episode of Saturday Morning, where he dished out some top tips on how to cook the perfect egg, how to avoid old eggs and how to store them properly. In his latest appearance on the ITV show (17th May), he was accompanied by Charley Boorman from Long Way Home, while also savouring a spread of mouth-watering recipes from chefs Asma Khan, Ronnie Murray, and Mike Reid. During one part of the show, the 52 year old demonstrated various methods of cooking eggs, including making an omelette, frying eggs in butter, and scrambling them. While preparing the eggs, he revealed a clever trick for separating the yolk from the egg white before cooking it. James picked up a couple of eggs and gave them a good shake for a few seconds, before explaining why this technique helps create the perfect egg. He said: "I'm going to take our eggs, and all I'm going to do is shake them", reports the Express. James continued: "My mum taught me this little trick, shake the eggs and what usually happens is, well one out of three, it helps the yolk go into the middle of the egg but the whites are separated. "You got two parts of the whites, when I fry the egg you will see it. When you put it in the pan and it cooks, you will see separation in the egg whites. "When the egg white is old, the whites all go into one, and you get this flooded egg." James also had another piece of advice for egg enthusiasts - don't store them in the fridge. "Here you are, loads of ways to cook an egg. Now you know how to store it, don't store it in the fridge, keep it outside like that." He further added: "There are tons of varieties, when you find one that you love - stick by it."
