Charley Boorman

I mean, if the country's in the middle of a war of something, I probably wouldn't go.

If you look back as far as the first explorers, they all took with them the latest gadget.

Get on to social media and ask questions about the areas you're going to. You'll be surprised at the amount of responses from people who want you to experience some of the amazing things they discovered themselves.

I'm very grateful to being dyslexic and I owe my career to being dyslexic.

If you're dyslexic I think it's very important to know that you can do anything you want and it's not simply because you're dyslexic that you should be shoved on the side.

I'm a traveller, I love to travel.

I think the easiest story to tell is your own.

Travel is the spice of life.

All kids love bikes and cars. But there was a guy in my local village, Tony, who gave me a go on a bike. My first proper motorbike was when I was about 12, but I'd ridden on his and he was the one who really got me into bikes.

I was dyslexic - still am dyslexic - and as child, I found things very difficult. I think my father realised that in acting and stuff I could express myself.

I got that sense of travel and adventure from my father.

It's very difficult to say what experience was the hardest. 'Long Way Round' was the first one, so we didn't know anything.

We all live in a very tranquil, sanitised world where you're told to do everything, and when you travel, it's very liberating not to be in that crazy, nannied state.

Africa can make people see things differently, and they realise the world is not as dangerous as people think.

If you say to people, 'I'm off to Papa New Guinea,' you'll often get a bad reaction - usually from people who've never been there. There's this fear of the unknown. And 99% of the time, you end up surprised - it rekindles your faith in humanity.

On the whole, GPS is fine but you still need maps because the information available can be different to what's on the ground. You need to be vigilant for obstacles.

On the Internet you can swap GPS details and use tools like Google Maps. It's amazing.

There's a whole culture now where you meet travellers who don't give you a scrap of paper with their address on it, they give their GPS coordinates. 'I've seen this amazing place in Malawi you've got to go to! I'll give you the coordinates!'

He was an amazing actor and could mimic anybody's voice. My sister Katrine was walking past one day and could hear our dad shouting and thought, 'God, I won't go in that room!' but realised it was Nicol Williamson mimicking my father's voice perfectly.

I think when you travel for long periods of time you become quite sensitive and emotional.

The fundamental thing for anybody, any relationship or any expedition or anything is communication.

Always bring a pack of baby wipes with you.

When you're nuts about motorbikes, sooner or later, you get to the point where you really want to do a long journey.

No-one's ever satisfied.

In places such as Kazakhstan and Mongolia people depend on each other a lot more. We can often be quite detached in the West, with e-mail and telephones, whereas in those countries people rely on each other more. It's lovely because you feel like, although you're a stranger, they respect you as a friend and want to help you.

When I was on the motorbike in the Dakar Rally I had a lot of time to think.

Travelling is fantastic fun and you see far more of a country journeying through it.

I don't read when I'm travelling.

My ideal holiday would be to spend the first week doing lots of fun stuff, then to spend the second week relaxing on a beach.

Ewan McGregor and I travelled 20,000 miles from London to New York by bike. It was incredible.

I think people saw him as someone who did good things for Ireland. If you looked at all the Irish actors in 'Excalibur' alone - Gabriel Byrne, Liam Neeson - there was a whole gaggle of Irish actors who've gone on to become stars, so Dad was really part of that.

Unlike London or other big cities, there's a great tolerance for motorbikes in Ireland. Culturally, it's quite different.

I remember being very free in Ireland.

I had a wonderful childhood, looking back on it.

You get sentimental on the road. I'd see a horse with its foal and a tear would come to my eye.

Excalibur' was a quest for my father. I remember it was manic on the film set. And we had these massive castle sets. I think my dad was under tremendous pressure making the movie because there was so much going on. I remember it was a hard one to make - a lot of stress and strain.

Ever since I've been seven I've been trying to make a living out of motorbikes.

My dad had no interest in motorbikes at all. It didn't come up on his radar.

I'm amazed how unable I am to deal with the demands that are made on me as an actor. Not the one I enjoy, which is standing in front of a camera or onstage pretending to be someone else but everything else that comes with it.

I grew up in Wicklow, near Roundwood. It's a beautiful place on the east coast. That's where I started riding bikes.

We have a Mercedes Viano, which is a sort of posh people carrier. I told my wife I bought it for the kids, but the real reason is that I can put my dirt bikes and a mattress in the back, then get out of London for the weekend.

I appeared in several of Dad's films - at the time, I didn't really appreciate how great a director he was.

Dad wanted me to act because it was a clever way of boosting my confidence.

When you ride electric bikes, you know the terrain that you're riding on becomes a factor and headwinds become a factor. Then there is tailwinds, which is behind you... it makes such a difference going downhill and stuff like that.

I think it's really important for people to have a passion... a hobby... riding horses or climbing or riding motorcycles or whatever it is. It's very good for the soul. And if you can find a soulmate with whom you can share similar experiences with... one who enjoys them as much as you do, then it's kind of a match made in heaven really.

I feel I have got away with beating cancer so I am now living life to the full and not worrying about whether it will come back.

It took four days from discovering I had cancer to finding out how serious the problem was.

I always wonder who people are when I meet them; where they live, how they get home from work and little things like that.

I suppose all the things I've done have been different.

Long Way Round' was the first time Ewan and I had done anything like that. We went through Mongolia and Siberia and places like that, so it was very tough.