Home at last: British adventurer completes epic 28-year journey . . . walking

A British adventurer who left home nearly three decades ago has finally returned to his family after walking approximately 31,000 miles (50,000 kilometres) across the world.

Karl Bushby, 57, arrived back in his home city of Hull on Monday, November 2, bringing an extraordinary 28-year adventure to an emotional end.

His return was greeted by hundreds of cheering supporters, but the most important moment was waiting at the end of the final stretch: a reunion with his mother, Angela, whom he had not seen in person for around 10 years.

As he arrived at the family home he had left in 1998, his mother greeted him with the words: “Where have you been?”

A banner reading ‘Welcome Home Son’ had been put up outside the house, as the former British Army paratrooper finally completed the promise that had kept him travelling for almost half his life.

A journey that took 28 years

Bushby began his Goliath Expedition, a 28-year journey around the world, in Punta Arenas, at the southern tip of Chile, on November 1, 1998. He was just 29 years old and expected the challenge to take around 12 years.

His ambition was to walk all the way home without using conventional transport to advance his journey. What followed was a 31,000-mile route through four continents and 30 countries, involving some of the world’s most difficult and dangerous terrain.

Among the most extraordinary achievements were crossing the frozen Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia, surviving the notorious Darien Gap jungle between Colombia and Panama, and swimming across the Caspian Sea.

His final major challenge was reaching Britain. After his request to walk through the Channel Tunnel was rejected, he eventually swam across the English Channel, reaching the coast at Dover in October.

The obstacles that kept him away

The journey was repeatedly interrupted by problems that had little to do with walking. Visa restrictions, border disputes, financial difficulties following the 2008 financial crisis and the Covid pandemic all added years to the expedition.

At times, Bushby spent lengthy periods waiting for permission to continue, while his determination to complete the journey meant he refused to simply abandon the challenge and return home.

His final arrival in Hull brought a huge public welcome, with Hull City Council organising a special homecoming reception in Queen Victoria Square, before he made the last journey to his mother’s house.

The Channel Tunnel dispute had threatened to prevent him completing the final stretch, as Euro Weekly News previously reported in its coverage of Karl Bushby’s 28-year walk home and the Channel Tunnel battle.

Speaking to the crowd, he joked: “Sorry to keep you waiting.” He also paid tribute to the people who had helped him along the way, saying: “They say it takes a village but literally it took a world to get me here.”

A family reunion 28 years in the making

The homecoming was about much more than completing a remarkable physical challenge. Bushby left Hull as a young man of 29 and returned at 57. During those years, life continued for the family he had left behind. He was reunited with his adult son, Adam, and met his 12-year-old granddaughter for the first time.

His mother had waited around a decade to see him again, making the embrace outside the family home an especially poignant moment after so many years apart. The adventurer has also admitted that finishing the expedition brings a new challenge: working out what comes next after spending 28 years with one overriding purpose.

A documentary about his extraordinary journey is in production, and he is expected to undertake speaking engagements in the coming weeks. For now, however, the man who spent almost three decades walking towards home has finally reached his destination.