Karl Bushby’s 28-year walk ends in tearful reunion as mum has one question

Karl Bushby, the British adventurer who set out on his Goliath Expedition on November 1, 1998, finally completed it on November 2, 2026, after 28 years. Bushby set out on his expedition on November 1, 1998, from Punta Arenas, Chile, with the goal of reaching his hometown of Hull, England, by foot, without the help of any kind of motorised transportation.

As he returned home after 28 years, he was welcomed by the people of England and his mother, Angela Bushby.

Karl Bushby returns home

Karl Bushby is now the only person in the world to complete a continuous human-powered walk around the world covering roughly 31,000 to 36,000 miles. He was 29 when he started his expedition, and upon returning, he was reunited with his mother, Angela; his 36-year-old son, Adam; and his 12-year-old granddaughter, whom he was meeting for the first time.

As the BBC reported, Karl Bushby's journey finally ended when he reached his childhood home at Hull and reunited with his mother, Angela. A tearful Angela embraced her son, and asked him:

"Where have you been?"

While Angela knows where he has been, her reaction is that of a mother who has evidently missed her son and has been waiting for him to complete his goal. As the BBC also reported, when Karl Bushby had first told his mother about his global trek, she was stunned. As Angela revealed, she was speechless when Karl initially told her about his plan.

But she also said:

"Karl has always been headstrong... Once Karl puts his mind to something, he does it."

As Karl Bushby got closer to his childhood home, he was joined in the last stretch of his walk by several locals. Moreover, he also talked to people, gave autographs and took selfies. When he arrived at his childhood home, he was also greeted by acclaimed German film director Werner Herzog. Herzog was present there to film Bushby's homecoming for an upcoming feature-length documentary he is making about him, titled Walk of Life.

While it has taken Karl Bushby 28 years to complete his journey, he did not walk for the entirety of it. He actively walked for roughly 15 of those years due to visa delays, the COVID-19 pandemic, and several detours. During his journey, he crossed 4 continents and passed through 29 countries, swam the Caspian Sea and the English Channel, and traversed the frozen Bering Strait and the Darién Gap.

Starting in 1998, Karl Bushby began at the southern tip of South America in Punta Arenas, Chile. He walked north through the length of South America and successfully traversed the dangerous Darién Gap into Central America.

Bushby entered the United States in April 2002, reached Alaska in 2005, and crossed the Bering Strait in March 2006. He was joined by French adventurer Dimitri Kieffer when he crossed the Bering Strait from Alaska into Russia.

From 2006 to 2024, Bushby spent years navigating severe Russian visa restrictions and walked through Siberia and down into Central Asia. He later swam across the Caspian Sea from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan to keep his journey entirely free of any motorised transport.

From 2024 to 2026, Bushby walked through Eastern and Western Europe, swam across the English Channel, and completed his final leg up through the United Kingdom, reaching his hometown of Hull on November 2, 2026.

Karl Bushby had a truly unique experience during his expedition. According to the BBC's Kevin Shoesmith, who spoke to Karl when he was in Mons, Belgium, Bushby's experiences have been quite different from what a regular tourist's would be. He had reportedly told Shoesmith:

"I'm seeing the world in a lot of detail, but it's from my perspective, relevant to what I'm doing... And it's not like the vacation-style detail where you're going to a place to learn the culture and the food and all that kind of thing. You kind of naturally know the food of a place because you're living in it."

He added:

"You're certainly not spending a lot of money on a traditional dish in a fancy restaurant with them telling you this is our traditional dish. You're shovelling plates in someone's house on the side of a road somewhere, but that's their traditional stuff."

His journey is an inspiration to many, with one individual, Peter Hobson, being inspired to go cycling around the world because of him.

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