Karl Bushby returns home after 28-year walk around world

Karl Bushby left home in 1998.

This week, 28 years and 50,000km later, he has returned to his UK hometown.

Bushby started his journey in Chile at the age of 29, with the goal of walking around the world and arriving home to Hull in 12 years.

After a series of setbacks, Bushby, now 57, told media it was a “truly an emotional moment” seeing his family again at his childhood house.

Background

Bushby, a former British paratrooper, was inspired to walk across continents after being given a birthday card from his father.

The card included a note about the possibility of walking from London to New York via the Bering Strait.

The Strait was a land bridge connecting Asia and North America thousands of years ago.

When ice freezes over much of the area in winter, it can be possible – although dangerous and illegal – to walk and swim across the Strait.

Journey

In 1998, Bushby travelled to Chile with a one-way ticket.

He left behind his ex-wife and their young son.

Bushby walked north through South America and traversed the dangerous Darién Gap from Colombia to Panama in 2001, known for harsh jungle terrain and violent criminal networks.

When he arrived in Panama, authorities arrested him for not having a valid visa, and he spent 18 days in prison.

Bushby continued north through the U.S. and Canada, eventually arriving at the Bering Strait, which he and a friend crossed to enter Russia in early 2006.

Again, he was detained on arrival.

This time, Bushby spent two months waiting to find out if he would be deported, with UK MPs stepping in to appeal his case.

Bushby relied on sponsors to fund his trip, which proved difficult during the 2008 financial crisis.

He paused the walk and flew to Mexico, where he stayed until he had enough funding to resume in 2011.

After Russia denied his next visa application, Bushby flew to Los Angeles and trekked across the U.S. to the Russian Embassy in Washington D.C, which eventually reversed the ban.

Once back in Russia, Bushby traversed Central Asia, until political tensions and the COVID-19 pandemic saw him fly back to the U.S, where he was stuck again.

In 2024, Bushby pivoted, choosing to swim across 300km of open water from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan over 31 days in the Caspian Sea.

Bushby travelled through Istanbul, Türkiye, into Europe in May 2025, the fourth continent of his journey.

One-and-a-half years later, Bushby arrived in Dover in the UK after swimming across the English Channel.

Return

Bushby completed the last 400km on foot from Dover to his family home in Hull, where he arrived on 2 November.

Awaiting his return were his mother, now 36-year-old son, and 12-year-old granddaughter.

When asked about the experience of returning, he told media: “It’s difficult to explain how that all felt today.”

“For a long time I’ve always tried to imagine what it would be meeting mother outside the gate... We’ve all changed a lot in that time,” Bushby said.