British adventurer Karl Bushby nears completion of 28-year walk from Chile to England
Karl Bushby, who began walking from Chile to his hometown in England 28 years ago, has returned to UK soil after swimming the English Channel and aims to reach Hull by Nov. 1.
British adventurer Karl Bushby is approaching the end of his "Goliath Expedition," a 28-year trek that began at the southern tip of Chile with the goal of walking an unbroken route to his childhood home in England. After swimming the English Channel—following a denial of permission to walk through the Channel Tunnel—Bushby set foot on British soil for the first time since he left.
"I'd like to drag it out longer if I could," Bushby told Morning Edition host A. Martinez.
Bushby plans to reach his mother’s house in Hull by Nov. 1. The journey has taken him through some of the world’s most challenging terrain, including the Darién Gap between Panama and Colombia, where he described the area as a war-zone-like jungle populated by guerrillas, paramilitaries and drug cartels. In 2006 he crossed the 58-mile Bering Strait on sea ice over 14 days, calling it the "crux of the entire journey" and noting the constant danger of shifting ice and extreme cold.
Financial setbacks during the 2007-2008 crisis and a denied Russian visa in 2012 forced Bushby to alter his route, leading him to swim the Caspian Sea in 2024 after land passages into Europe were closed. He acknowledges the personal cost of the expedition, having seen his mother and son only a few times and never meeting his granddaughter.
"There's people that you care for the most in the world that pay a price for your antics and for your ambitions. That can be a heavy cross to bear. It gets heavier over time," he said.
Bushby advises others considering long-term adventures to keep them within a reasonable timeframe, warning that journeys extending beyond five years can strain relationships and families.
"I always tell them, keep it within a reasonable time frame. Go have your adventure but if you do longer than five years or more, then you've got to be prepared for the fact that it's going to start to mess with your relationships and your families on a deep level," he said.
He notes that his sense of home has evolved, with periods in Mexico and Colombia feeling like home at times, and describes his return to the UK as a process of re-establishing himself in his native country.