Karl Bushby, a former paratrooper, is nearing the end of a 36,000-mile walk that began in Chile in November 1998. Now 57, Bushby set out from Punta Arenas at age 29 with two rules: not to return to the UK until completing the journey, and not to use transport to advance. He has since crossed four continents, traversed the Darién Gap jungle, crossed the frozen Bering Strait in 2006, and swam the English Channel a few weeks ago.
Bushby will arrive in his home city of Hull to meet his 36-year-old son Adam, a 12-year-old granddaughter he has never met, his father, his brothers, and his mother at the childhood home he left 28 years ago.
The walk was not continuous. Bushby has only spent about 15 of the 28 years walking, often retreating to Mexico between stints to manage visa applications and navigate geopolitical restrictions. Travel restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic caused further delays. On rare occasions, he met family members in other countries, a separation he describes as creating distance and strain in relationships.
Bushby acknowledges anxiety about his life after arrival. "Everything that I am and everything that I know of me is going to go away," he said. He described facing an identity crisis, noting that the mission has defined him for half his life and questioning how he will find meaning and purpose once it ends.
Fellow long-distance walker Angela Maxwell, who joined him from Dover, suggested Bushby may underestimate how much he will miss the road. Maxwell said Bushby "doesn't love walking" but "loves the mission. He loves the passion, the purpose."
Bushby says the global interest in his return has been overwhelming, with many people recognizing him along the route. He attributes this partly to people's own unfulfilled desires to walk away from home, though he has consistently denied the journey is spiritual.