Karl Bushby returns to Britain after a 28-year journey — Deutsche Welle

British traveler Karl Bushby has returned to his hometown of Hull in northeastern England after a 28-year journey during which he covered about 50,000 kilometers across four continents. On Monday, the 57-year-old was welcomed by around 500 people, Deutsche Welle reports.

Bushby began his route in 1998 at the southernmost tip of South America, in Chile. During the journey, he followed two rules: not to use motorized transport to move forward and not to return home until completing the route. He mostly transported essential items in a handcart.

A journey across continents

The former paratrooper set off on the journey at the age of 29 after the breakdown of his marriage. In 2006, together with French explorer Dimitri Kieffer, he crossed the frozen Bering Strait from Alaska to Russia, nearly dying during the crossing.

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At the beginning of last month, while already returning to Britain, Bushby swam across the English Channel from northern France to Dover in four days. He had initially planned to complete the route in 12 years, but the journey took much longer due to forced breaks.

Delays and return home

Among the reasons for the delays was Russia's refusal to issue him a visa. Bushby also spent some time in prison in Panama for entering the country without a visa. The COVID-19 pandemic also interrupted the route, and the traveler then lived for some time at a base in Mexico. Each time after a pause, he resumed the journey from the same place where he had stopped.

In Hull, Bushby was to meet his mother Angela, his 36-year-old son Adam, and his 12-year-old granddaughter, whom he had not seen before. German director Werner Herzog is making a feature-length documentary about the journey titled Walk of Life.