British man returns home after a 28-year journey: he traveled 50 thousand km on foot

British man returned home after a journey lasting 28 years: he covered 50 thousand km on foot

British traveler Karl Bushby has completed his round-the-world journey, which lasted 28 years. During this period, he covered almost 50,000 kilometers. The adventurer visited 30 countries across four continents and survived many dangerous situations. On November 2, the 57-year-old man finally returned to his hometown of Hull in northern England.

Bushby set off from Punta Arenas, Chile, on November 1, 1998. The former British paratrooper set an unusual goal for himself — to reach home without using any means of transport, strictly on foot. In places where walking was impossible, he swam across water obstacles. Among them were the Caspian Sea and the English Channel.

The idea for the trip arose after Bushby's father told him about a bet between two special forces soldiers. They once argued over whether it was possible to walk from London to New York via the Bering Strait, where a land bridge between Asia and North America once existed. In the end, the British man decided to test how far he could go if he completely gave up transportation.

He took a tent, a few hundred dollars, and a cheap camera with him. His route passed through South and Central America, the USA, Alaska, Asia, and Europe. On the way, he encountered jungles, deserts, and frozen tundra regions.

One of the hardest stages for the traveler was crossing the Bering Strait in 2006. Together with American traveler Dmitry Kieffer, Bushby covered almost 90 kilometers over floating ice. He encountered a polar bear, fell into icy water several times, and nearly lost all his supplies. After the first expedition, they were evacuated, but they returned again and completed the crossing anyway.

One of the main problems was not only natural conditions, but also bureaucracy. In Panama, Bushby spent 18 days in prison for crossing a restricted border area, and in Mexico, he was threatened with a gun. Visas, border restrictions, and the need to wait for favorable weather halted the journey several times for long months and even years.

The 2008 global financial crisis, which led to a reduction in sponsorship funds, and the COVID-19 pandemic also caused serious delays. Bushby says that out of the 28 years, he spent only about 15 years directly on the road. The rest of the time was spent processing documents, doing organizational work, and waiting for the opportunity to continue his way. Initially, the traveler thought that everything would take about ten years. However, the scale of the obstacles turned out to be much larger than he had imagined.

In October 2026, Bushby swam across the English Channel, where his father and brothers met him on the British coast. The final stage of the expedition brought him to Hull. Hundreds of people greeted the traveler in the central square of the city, after which he headed to his mother's house, pushing a cart with his belongings in front of him.

At the gate, he was met by his mother, Angela Bushby. Although he had met with other relatives several times during the trip, he had not seen his mother for almost 10 years. Karl Bushby admitted that the meeting was very emotional and that he still needed to fully process what had happened. Over these years, not only his life, but his entire family had changed.

Bushby also reunited with his 36-year-old son, Adam, whom he rarely saw, and met his 12-year-old grandson for the first time. The traveler stated that he was able to return thanks to so many people who helped him in various situations.

"They say it takes a village to do something big, but it literally took a whole world for me to get here. I accomplished this thanks to the help of so many strangers — from individuals to entire nations. I didn't do this alone," says Karl Bushby.

Now the British man has to adapt to a normal life. He admitted that he cannot yet imagine what he will do next.

Plans for the coming months are already set: six public appearances are scheduled, a sequel to his memoir "Giant Steps" is being prepared, and German director Werner Herzog is filming a documentary about the journey. Bushby himself believes that the best way to overcome post-adventure depression is to find a new big goal for himself.