After spending 28 years travelling across four continents on foot, a British adventurer has finally returned to his hometown, completing an extraordinary 50,000km journey that began in South America in 1998.
Karl Bushby, now 57, arrived in Hull, north-east England, on Nov 2, where around 500 people gathered in the city centre to cheer him on his long-awaited return.
Addressing the crowd, Bushby said he had not completed the challenge alone, crediting the people and support behind him, as well as what he described as his biggest team – the Earth.
His journey is not quite over, however. He is preparing to make the final trip to his mother’s home, north of Hull, where he will reunite with her, his 36-year-old son and his 12-year-old granddaughter, whom he has never met.
Bushby began the ambitious expedition in 1998, aged 29, following the breakdown of his marriage. He set off from Chile with his belongings packed into a metal-framed pushcart, setting himself two strict rules: he would not use any form of transport to advance his journey, and he would not return home until the challenge was complete.
From South America, he travelled north across the Americas before crossing the Bering Strait from Alaska into Russia. He then continued through Central Asia and Europe, taking on jungles, mountains, deserts and frozen stretches of sea along the way.
The expedition was interrupted several times by major obstacles, including Russia’s refusal to grant him a visa, the 2008 global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. During these breaks, he mainly stayed at a base in Mexico before returning to the exact locations where he had stopped to resume his journey.
In 2024, Bushby swam across the Caspian Sea from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan. Earlier in October 2026, he also swam across the English Channel from northern France after being denied permission to walk through the Channel Tunnel, finally reaching British shores.
His father and a small group of relatives and friends welcomed him near Dover in southern England when he arrived. On Nov 1, Bushby crossed the Humber Bridge near Hull, setting off on the final stretch towards the city centre.
After nearly three decades of walking, swimming and overcoming countless setbacks, the adventurer has finally made it home – with a family reunion awaiting him at the end of the road.
