Karl Bushby Reaches UK Soil After 28-Year Walk Across the World
240 miles remain to his mother's home in Hull as ex-paratrooper completes final stretch
British adventurer Karl Bushby stood on English soil after swimming across the English Channel from France, capping a 28-year expedition that has taken him across four continents on foot and by swimming.
The ex-paratrooper, 57, paused in Dover on Sunday, describing the Union Jack fluttering outside his hotel as the most meaningful flag he has seen in decades. He is now walking the final 240 miles from Dover to Hull, the home of his mother, which he aims to reach by the end of October.
“I’m staring at the Union Jack flying outside this hotel. I’ve seen many flags over the days, but that one is special,” Bushby said from Dover.
His mission traces back to a birthday card his father gave him in the 1990s, recounting the story of two soldiers who argued over whether a walk from London to New York via the Bering Strait was possible. Bushby took a map, drew a single line, and committed to the route.
The crossing of the narrowest point between Europe and Asia, where Russia and the United States sit only about 55 miles apart, is among the most formidable challenges in long-distance adventure. The icy waters and extreme weather make a walking route across it viable for only a few weeks each year, and very few people have attempted the full London-to-New York walk.
Bushby set off on November 1, 1998, in Chile with only a few hundred dollars. He walked north through South America into the United States, waiting for the Bering Strait to freeze solid enough to cross from Alaska into Russia.
In April 2012, Russia denied him a visa, forcing him to reroute. He walked 5,000 miles across the United States toward Washington, D.C., to protest at the Russian Embassy. The ban was overturned and he resumed his journey.
From Russia he entered Mongolia, crossed China, and swam the Caspian Sea from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan in September 2024. His route then carried him through 29 countries and more than 30,000 miles.
He originally estimated the walk would take 12 years. Visa restrictions, the 2008 financial crash, the pandemic, detention in several countries, and numerous close calls extended the timeline to more than twice as long.
“You’ll find that you are way more capable than you think you are. People always underestimate themselves,” Bushby said.
On social media he shared his first meal back, fish and chips, and described the final stretch as the most physical challenge of the expedition. He says his knees and ankles are signaling that the walking era is ending.
The journey has drawn comparisons to other endurance feats, though Bushby’s is unique in its continuity: no aircraft, no major transport, only human effort from one end of Eurasia to the other.
His wife and supporters have joined him along portions of the final leg, including a recent crossing through North Carolina in the United States in 2014 and the recent stretch through England.
“The world is an incredible place, and it’s the people, the strangers that I have met along the way, that have kept me upright and moving forward,” Bushby said.
