Karl Bushby ends his 28-year walk around the world in Hull
· BehindLines newsroom · Updated
British adventurer Karl Bushby, 57, reached his childhood home in Hull, northern England, on Monday 2 November 2026, at the end of a 28-year walk that began in southern Chile. According to Al Jazeera, the former paratrooper was greeted outside his mother Angela's house under a banner reading "Welcome Home Son", after hundreds of supporters had welcomed him earlier in the city centre.
An expedition with strict rules
According to Al Jazeera, Karl Bushby started the "Goliath Expedition" in November 1998 in Punta Arenas, in southern Chile, with a tent, a few hundred dollars and a cheap plastic camera. His aim was to get home by an unbroken route, without using transport to make progress along that route. NPR Illinois adds that the rules also barred him from setting foot in England again until he had arrived there on foot. Also according to NPR, the idea came from a birthday card sent by his father, which described a conversation between two British special forces members about whether one could walk from London to New York via the Bering Strait.
A route full of obstacles
According to Al Jazeera, Karl Bushby went north through the Americas, crossed the frozen Bering Strait from Alaska to Russia, then continued through Mongolia and China. He later swam across the Caspian Sea before heading towards Europe. NPR Illinois dates the crossing of the Darién Gap, the roadless jungle between Panama and Colombia, to 2000-2001, and the Bering Strait crossing to 2006, which covered 58 miles in 14 days. The same outlet places the Caspian swim in 2024, made necessary because land routes into Europe had closed.
The difficulties were many. Al Jazeera reports that he was detained after entering Russia and faced repeated visa and funding problems; the 2008 financial crisis cost him major sponsors. NPR adds a Russian visa refusal in 2012. Expected to take about twelve years, the journey ended up taking 28.
The final stretch
To enter England, Karl Bushby swam the English Channel in October 2026. According to NPR Illinois, he had been denied permission to walk through the Channel Tunnel. According to My Modern Met (article of 19 October), he came ashore on the beaches of Dover and then set off on the roughly 400 kilometres separating him from Hull, aiming to finish on 1 November, the anniversary of his departure. The arrival finally took place on 2 November, according to Al Jazeera.
Figures that differ
The sources do not give the same distance. Al Jazeera speaks of about 50,000 kilometres (31,070 miles) over 28 years, CBS News 30,000 miles (about 48,000 kilometres); My Modern Met mentions about 58,000 kilometres (36,000 miles) across 29 countries. None of these sources explains how it was calculated, so these figures should be read as orders of magnitude.
What the adventure cost
NPR Illinois stresses the personal price of the expedition: in 28 years Karl Bushby saw his mother and son only a few times, and, according to NPR before his arrival, he had a granddaughter he had not yet met. In his NPR interview, he acknowledged that pursuing the expedition had also burdened those closest to him.
On arrival, Al Jazeera quotes him joking, "Sorry to keep you waiting." He said it had taken "a world" to get him there. CBS News also reported his gratitude to the people around the world whose help had made the journey possible.
What comes next
Also according to Al Jazeera, a feature-length documentary about the journey is in production, and Karl Bushby plans a speaking tour around England in the coming weeks.