Behind the wheel with James May

Where has been your favourite road trip destination? 
Jeremy [Clarkson], Richard [Hammond] and I took a journey across the Namibian Desert. Just to make it interesting, we were in beach buggies. Somehow, I managed to get separated from the other two as the sun went down, so it was just me, an endless vista of sand dunes, the purity of the desert… That sort of thing. For the first time in my life, I was completely alone in the world. Well, there was a camera car filming me, but I mentally erased it.
 
Where’s on your bucket list?
Although we’ve been lucky enough to visit most places around the world over the last 20-plus years, I have – weirdly – never been to Hong Kong. Yes, I’ve been through it, but never had a proper look around. I have a few mates from there and the noodle scene sounds amazing. I am not ashamed to say that I can get quite excited about noodles.

What’s your ultimate travel song? 
Top of the pile has to be ‘If I Had A Hammer’, the 1962 hit by Peter, Paul and Mary. If you play this, you have to sing along to it… It’s impossible not to.
 
What are your three packing essentials and why? 
I never go anywhere without my nail clippers; useful for all sorts of things from trimming your nails to splitting cable ties. A disposable cigarette lighter, of course, for starting campfires and even stopping nylon from fraying. And finally, a small torch because it always gets dark eventually.
 
Do you have any clever travel hacks? 
Take another collapsible bag inside your main luggage. It’s good for keeping track of your dirty laundry and you will always need a bit of extra baggage for the souvenirs you end up buying. 

What’s your dream car? And where in the world would you most want to drive it?
I’ve driven a lot of incredible cars, but I couldn’t really pick one above all the others. Having said that, I do sometimes imagine driving across the African continent, following in the footsteps of David Livingstone and living in a converted Land Rover. It’s a nice idea, but I’d probably hate it. I have developed a fondness for boutique hotels in later life.

Do you think you’re a good traveller?
On the whole, yes. I can travel light, I keep things pretty basic, I’m quite good when it comes to improvising and I’ve never been a fussy eater. Oh, and I can sleep anywhere, which has come in useful on several occasions. Well, almost anywhere. Curled up in a Lamborghini Gallardo for a Top Gear road trip in Romania was a bit of a squeeze. 

What’s been your craziest travel experience to date?
In my younger days, I was back-packing and I got stranded in Italy and ended up sleeping under a weeping willow. Doesn’t sound so bad, you say? Unfortunately, the weeping willow in question was on the central reservation of a dual carriageway. When I woke up, there were around 15 other back-packers under there. We stayed for two days and created a sort of party camp. I’m still in touch with one of them.
 
If you could live anywhere else in the world, where would it be, and why?
In the past, I remember thinking I could be very happy in sunny California. Parts of Europe, too… Italy and Germany. Although I’ve always found Japan absolutely fascinating, I think it would be a bit of a leap. But, after all the millions of miles – so I’m told – we’ve clocked up, I’m probably happiest where I am, a combination of city life in London and the wide open spaces of the West Country.

Explorers – The Age of Discovery with James May is now on tour