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British adventurer Karl Bushby completes 28-year walk home

Summarised from 8 outlets · 9 reports · Updated 2 Nov, 12:41 · Archive

Karl Bushby, 57, has arrived in his home town of Hull after walking 31,000 miles from South America over 28 years without using motorised transport.

Karl Bushby, a 57-year-old former paratrooper, has arrived in his home town of Hull to complete a 28-year walking expedition that began in the southern tip of Chile in November 1998. He set off at age 28 (or 29, according to one account) with the goal of walking home to northern England without using any form of motorised transport.

Bushby's journey covered approximately 31,000 to 36,000 miles across four continents and 29 countries. He pushed a cart nicknamed 'The Beast' throughout the expedition. The trip was originally planned to take around 12 years but lasted more than double that time, delayed by visa refusals from Russia, time spent in jail in Panama for entering without a visa, and the COVID-19 pandemic, during which he stayed at a base in Mexico.

The adventurer undertook some of the world's most dangerous crossings. He traversed the notorious Darien Gap during conflict between Colombian government forces and Marxist guerrillas. In 2006, he crossed the frozen Bering Strait from Alaska to Russia with French explorer Dimitri Kieffer, nearly losing his life in the process. He also became the first person to swim 184 miles across the Caspian Sea and swam the English Channel from France to Dover over four days before arriving in England earlier this month.

On Monday, Bushby made his penultimate stop in Hull's Queen Victoria Square, where he was mobbed by hundreds of cheering well-wishers. He told the crowd: 'There has never been a welcome home quite like this, I'm sure. This is absolute madness. After 28 years, you couldn't ask for more than this.' He was greeted by the Lord Mayor, Maria Coward, and Hull East MP Karl Turner, who read a message of congratulations from Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

The journey has had profound personal consequences. Bushby's son Adam was eight years old when his father left; Adam is now 36 and has visited his father only four times during the expedition. Bushby has a 12-year-old granddaughter whom he had spoken to only through video calls and was meeting in person for the first time. Adam told the Yorkshire Post: 'There were parts of my life where you just need your dad for it.' Bushby's mother, Angela, is 79.

After the civic reception in Hull City Hall, Bushby embarked on the final leg of his journey: a three-mile walk to his mother's house in north Hull, which he had last visited in 1998. Speaking to the crowd, he said: 'I didn't do this alone. There was a big team, the biggest team, Earth. That's what it took to get me back.' A spokesperson said his return was 'emotional', noting that after 28 years focused on reaching each next step, he was uncertain what lay ahead.

British adventurer Karl Bushby completes 28-year walk home
Image: Evening Standard

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How it is being reported

In this story: Karl Bushby · Hull · Chile · Bering Strait · Darien Gap · Adam Bushby · Angela Bushby · Andy Burnham

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log