Fifty-six-year-old Karl Bushby returned to his family’s home in Britain on Monday after spending 28 years becoming the first person to walk continuously around the world.
Bushby, a former paratrooper, set off from the southern tip of Chile in November 1998 on what he intended to be a 12-year trip by foot up through the Americas, across the Bering Strait into Russia and into Europe, traversing 36,000 miles and visiting four continents and 29 countries.
His progress, however, slowed several times, including his arrest in Russia on allegations of being a spy, where authorities threatened him with deportation.
He also encountered a polar bear, faced a standoff at gunpoint, and had to replace the trolley he used to transport his belongings after it broke down, The Guardian reported.
The BBC said Bushby walked the last few miles from Hull City Hall to his mother’s home, where he greeted her for the first time in 28 years.
“Where have you been?” Angela joked.
German filmmaker Werner Herzog also attended the reunion. He plans to make a feature-length documentary about Bushby’s adventure, while Bushby plans to begin a speaking tour around England in the coming weeks.
Why did it take Karl Bushby so long?
Karl Bushby’s walk took 28 years (from November 1, 1998, to November 2, 2026) because of his strict self-imposed rules, massive geographical and physical obstacles, and endless bureaucratic and global disruptions.
The Rules of the “Goliath Expedition” Bushby could not use cars, trains, or planes to move forward along his route. If he used transport due to a forced detour or pause, he had to return to the exact GPS coordinate where he stopped before taking another step.
He vowed not to return to the UK until he walked all the way back to his hometown of Hull.
Key Causes for the Delays
Securing permits through Russia took nearly 10 years, including a visa denial in 2012 that forced him to walk in protest from Los Angeles to the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Later, geopolitical tensions and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine further obstructed his path.
He had to navigate lawless and dangerous areas like the Darién Gap in Central America, face a standoff with a polar bear in Siberia, cross the frozen Bering Strait on foot (which required an airlift rescue and starting over), and literally swim massive bodies of water like the Caspian Sea and the English Channel to avoid breaking his no-transport rule.
Out of the 28 years total, Bushby estimated that actual walking only accounted for about 15 of those years, with the rest lost to waiting out red tape, weather seasons, money troubles, and global events.
Content contributed by Danielle Haynes, reported from Hull, England, United Kingdom, sourced by upi.com
