LODON: After 28 years on foot, British adventurer Karl Bushby’s epic journey around the world is finally nearing its end.
The 57-year-old former paratrooper stepped onto UK soil on October 5, 2026, at Shakespeare Beach near Dover, after swimming across the English Channel from France. His team confirmed the news.
Bushby started his incredible journey, called the Goliath Expedition, in November 1998 from Punta Arenas, Chile. He was just 29 years old at the time. His mission was simple but extreme: walk all the way back to his mother’s home in Hull, England, without using any motorised transport and without returning home until he finished.
He set two strict rules for himself, Never use any transport – no planes, trains, boats, or cars to move forward. Never go home until the walk is complete. In 28 years, he has covered nearly 50,000 kilometres through 29 countries. But this was no ordinary walk.
His route took him through some of the most dangerous places on earth. He crossed the deadly Darien Gap jungle between Colombia and Panama, became the first person to cross the Bering Strait on foot from east to west in 2006 with French adventurer Dimitri Kieffer, and swam 184 miles (288 km) across the Caspian Sea for 31 days when he couldn’t get a land route.
His journey was stopped many times. Russia refused him a visa for years, he ran out of money during the 2008 financial crisis, and the Covid-19 pandemic forced him to pause. During these breaks, he lived in Mexico and other places, but always resumed from the exact same spot where he stopped.
Speaking after landing in Dover, Bushby said: “Feels good to have UK soil under my feet after all these years. It hasn’t been easy, and that’s part of the point.
Proving I’m more capable than I give myself credit for. All of us can accomplish more than we will ever imagine. “According to reports, he spent 20 hours swimming over three days to cross the Channel after UK and French authorities gave special permission.
But his journey is not 100% complete yet. He still has to walk about 400 kilometers from Dover to his mother’s house in Hull. The man who left home 28 years ago is now just a few hundred steps away from finally returning home.
Read also:Exercise helps improve fitness, control blood sugar, new study finds
