British adventurer Karl Bushby has made it home after walking across the world for 28 years. On November 2, 2026 his emotional homecoming in Hull, England where he started out back in 1998 was finally over.
The 57-year-old completed an adventure that tested his physical strength, patience and determination over nearly three decades.
Bushby started his expedition in Punta Arenas, Chile when he was 29. He wanted to walk around the world and return to Hull without motorised transport as a means of progress on his way there what he had originally planned to do in about 12 years turned into an adventure that lasted 28 years with unexpected twists and long breaks.
The expedition (known as the Goliath Expedition) covered about 50,000 km across four continents and 29 countries. Bushby travelled through South America, Central America, North America, Russia, Central Asia and Europe different cultures, landscapes and difficult conditions.
One of the most difficult moments was in 2006 when Bushby and French explorer Dimitri Kieffer crossed the frozen Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia.
The crossing exposed them to extreme cold, dangerous ice and weather that was unpredictable it was one of the toughest stages of the expedition.
His journey also had its share of unexpected setbacks. Bushby was imprisoned in Panama and detained by Russian authorities over border issues. Financial problems, visa restrictions, bad weather and COVID-19 all slowed him down too but he never lost his determination to finish what he started.
Whenever circumstances forced him to stop Bushby resolved to start his expedition all over again from the point where he had left off. That was one of the qualities of his remarkable journey.
Another big challenge was crossing the Caspian Sea (an unusual swimming and floating) approach. In October 2026 he also swam across the English Channel from France to England before the final leg of his journey towards Hull.
Crowds gathered in Hull on November 2 to welcome him back. Bushby’s homecoming was particularly poignant as he returned home with his mother Angela after having been separated for four years.
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