Karl Bushby ends 28-year walk around the world at mother's home in Hull

Former British paratrooper Karl Bushby arrived at his mother's house in Hull on Monday, completing a 31,000-mile journey on foot that began in Punta Arenas, Chile, in November 1998 and took him across four continents, including Türkiye.

Karl Bushby, a former British paratrooper who set out to walk around the world in 1998, completed his journey on Monday when he reached his mother's house in Hull, England, after 28 years and about 31,000 miles (49,890 kilometers).

Bushby, then 29, set off from Punta Arenas, Chile, in November 1998 with two rules: not to return to the UK until the end of the journey, and not to use any transport to advance. His route took him across four continents, through the jungles of the Darién Gap and over the frozen Bering Strait, which he crossed in 2006. In 2025 he walked across Türkiye, and in October he swam the English Channel, coming ashore near Dover.

Karl Bushby during his walk around the world (file photo)

Crowds lined the Humber Bridge on Sunday as he crossed into East Yorkshire, where he was met by his 36-year-old son, Adam, a 12-year-old granddaughter he had never met, his father and his brothers. On Monday he was welcomed in Hull city center by the lord mayor, Maria Coward, before walking the final miles to the house in Sutton Park where his mother, Angela, raised him. "It's good to be home. It feels surreal," he said. His mother, who had not seen him for a decade, said: "It's good to have him home."

Bushby said only about 15 of the 28 years were spent walking, with visa problems, the global financial crash and the Covid pandemic causing delays. Near the end of the journey he signed a deal with German filmmaker Werner Herzog. He said he expected to struggle as he readjusts to normal life: "Everything that I am and everything that I know of me is going to go away."