Almost Home After 28 Years on Foot
Tuesday, November 3, 2026212 words3 minutes333 reads
For 28 years, Karl Bushby's life has been organised around one destination: home. The British adventurer left southern Chile on November 1, 1998, intending to reach Hull, England, entirely under his own power. What he initially imagined might take 12 years has lasted almost three decades.
Now 57, Bushby has covered roughly 50,000 kilometres across four continents. His route involved dangerous jungles and a 2006 crossing of shifting ice between Alaska and Russia. Yet endurance alone could not overcome administrative barriers: visa difficulties and severe winters meant the Russian section took about ten years.
The expedition was never an uninterrupted walk. Bushby sometimes waited months or years for permission, returning to his stopping point after enforced departures. Political tensions eventually blocked some routes. In 2024, he spent 31 days crossing the Caspian Sea through a combination of swimming and floating. He also swam across the English Channel in October 2026.
He is expected to reach Hull on November 2, before continuing to his mother's home. Strangers' generosity sustained him, while prolonged absences strained relationships; he has not seen his mother in about ten years. Approaching home brings excitement and uncertainty: the goal that structured almost half his life will soon disappear. The next adjustment may be learning to remain in one place.
