Twenty-eight years, approximately 50,000 kilometers (31,000 miles), four continents and countless adventures and dangers along the way. British adventurer Karl Bushby's extraordinary journey finally came to an end Monday when the 57-year-old reached his mother's home in Hull, England.
Bushby set off from the southern tip of Chile in 1998, vowing not to return home until he had completed the journey under his own power. Along the way, he crossed dangerous jungles, trekked across the frozen Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia, was arrested by authorities and even swam across the Caspian Sea and the English Channel. Hundreds of people gathered in his hometown to welcome him as he prepared to take the final steps of an odyssey spanning nearly three decades. "After 28 years, I couldn't have asked for a better welcome," he said emotionally.
Gallery
British adventurer Karl Bushby reunites with his mother, Angela, in Hull, England, after completing his 28-year journey around the world
(Photo: REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja)
Bushby arrived at Queen Victoria Square in central Hull pushing a two-wheeled cart carrying his few belongings, including a spare wheel he would no longer need. Hundreds of residents, photographers and journalists had gathered to greet him, applauding and cheering as he approached. "Sorry to have kept you waiting," he joked. "Is that it? Is it over?" He then thanked the crowd: "They say it takes a village to raise a child, but in my case, it took the whole world to get me here. The kindness of strangers, from individuals to entire countries, is what made it possible for me to come home. I didn't do this alone."
After the reception in the city center, Bushby continued toward his mother's home in the Sutton Park neighborhood, bringing to an end the journey he began on November 1, 1998. His mother, Angela, whom he had not seen in about a decade, was waiting for him. The family reunion also included his 36-year-old son, Adam, whom he had seen only a handful of times over the years, and his 12-year-old granddaughter, whom he had never met. For Bushby, who had devoted nearly half his life to the expedition, it was a return to a world he had left behind almost three decades earlier.
Bushby addresses the crowd welcoming him back to his hometown
(Photo: REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja)
"It's been a week of lasts," he told the crowd shortly before continuing on his way. "The last night in the tent, the last day on the road. After 28 years, I couldn't have asked for more. These really are the final steps to my mother's house."
From a dream in Chile to the frozen Bering Strait
A former British Army paratrooper, Bushby embarked on his adventure following the breakdown of his marriage. The idea had taken shape years earlier, when his father told him about an argument among soldiers over whether it was possible to walk from London to New York via the Bering Strait. Bushby decided to put the theory to the test, but in the opposite direction: He would fly to South America and make his way back to England entirely under his own power. He established two rules for himself: He would not use transportation to advance along his route, and he would not return home until he had completed the mission.
Karl Bushby with his two-wheeled cart and spare wheel
(Photo: REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja)
Armed with a tent, a few hundred dollars and a basic camera, Bushby set off from Punta Arenas, Chile, and began making his way north through the Americas. In 2001, he crossed the notoriously dangerous Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama, later spending 18 days in detention after entering a restricted border area. In Mexico, he found himself threatened at gunpoint. But one of his greatest challenges still lay ahead, at the northern edge of the continent.
Map of Karl Bushby's route around the world
In 2006, Bushby and American adventurer Dimitry Kieffer crossed the frozen Bering Strait separating Alaska from Russia. The pair confronted ice breaking beneath their feet, plunges into freezing water and a dangerous encounter with a polar bear. Their first attempt ended in a rescue, but they returned and eventually completed the crossing. After reaching the Russian side, however, they were arrested for illegally crossing the border and faced deportation.
Making his way through Russia took nearly a decade, partly because of visa restrictions and weather conditions that allowed him to travel during only a few months of the year. The 2008 global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic also delayed his progress. According to Bushby, of the 28 years since he began his journey, only about 15 were spent actually walking. The rest were consumed by securing permits, raising funds, planning and prolonged periods of waiting.
In recent years, Bushby faced extraordinary challenges at sea as well. Determined to continue without boarding a ship or aircraft, he swam across the Caspian Sea and, last month, completed a crossing of the English Channel. Even after reaching British shores, he still had hundreds of kilometers to cover before arriving in his hometown.
'Loneliness is a real problem': the personal cost of 28 years on the road
In an interview with ynet in November 2025, while he was still making his way toward Britain, Bushby revealed that the greatest price of his journey was not the physical hardship or the dangers he had encountered, but the personal relationships he had lost along the way. "But the hardest part was losing those connections," he said. "Loneliness is a real problem."
Karl Bushby during the early years of his journey
Asked what he planned to do when he finally arrived home, Bushby spoke about lectures, interviews and projects awaiting him after the expedition, before adding: "After that, I suppose I'll have to find some peace and quiet." Now that he has finally reached his mother's home, that question is no longer theoretical.
Karl Bushby in South America
When Bushby first set out, he estimated the journey would take approximately 12 years. In reality, it took more than twice as long. Now, after dedicating almost half his life to a single goal, he faces an entirely different challenge: adjusting to a life in which he no longer has to wake up every morning and keep walking.