Karl Bushby has completed a 28-year journey around the world on foot, returning to his home city of Hull after taking an estimated 75 million steps.
The 57-year-old adventurer was greeted by cheers and applause as he walked into the northern English port city on Monday, 28 years and one day after setting out from Chile.
Bushby’s expedition was governed by two rules: he would not use a machine to advance his journey, and he would not return home until it was complete, even if family or friends died during his absence.
His route was repeatedly disrupted by illness, visa restrictions in Russia, the war in Ukraine and the need to cross large bodies of water. He also faced armed gangs in the Darién Gap, imprisonment in Panama and a polar bear in Siberia.
Known as the Goliath Expedition, the journey began on 1 November 1998. Bushby travelled north through Central America, the United States and Canada before making the first recorded attempt to cross the Bering Sea on foot to Russia.
He continued through Central Asia and, in order to avoid the war in Ukraine, spent 31 days swimming across the Caspian Sea in what was also described as a first.
After crossing Europe, Bushby swam the English Channel from France last month. British immigration officers were waiting on the other side to check his passport as he reached the country of his birth.
His final stage was a brisk walk of about three miles from near Hull city centre to his mother’s home in a quiet neighbourhood of red-brick terraces.
Children lined the route and cheered as an honour guard led the way. Bushby pushed the cart that had accompanied him for roughly 25 years during the last few steps, before embracing his mother in the street.
Addressing supporters in Hull, Bushby said: “I didn’t do this alone. There was a big team, the biggest team: Earth. That’s what it took to get me back.”
He added: “We faced down governments. We faced down some of the hardest challenges. We’ve had to create two world records just to get back here. And I couldn’t have done it on my own. So it was a world, global effort.”
Bushby said returning home after more than 10,000 days away had left him questioning what home meant to him.
“I’m home, but it’s not the home that I’m used to now for so long,” he said. “And it’s an odd feeling. And I almost feel guilt. Like there are other parts of the world now that feel more like home to me. And now I’m going to be faced with this weird static thing.”
He said he had become unfamiliar with everyday life in Britain, having spent nearly three decades abroad.
“I’ve worked with dollars for 28 years. I don’t know the brands in the stores,” he said. “A couple of times I got caught out crossing the road because I’m looking in the other direction because these people drive on the wrong side of the road.”
Bushby acknowledged that the world was facing a troubled period, but said he remained optimistic.
“The world’s in a little bit messier time; there are more wars,” he said. “But it’s all good. At the end of the day, we’ve been through worse. So we all need to breathe a little bit, get through the tough times; we’re going to be just fine. My bet is on us, no matter what. My bet is on humanity.”
His advice to anyone considering an extraordinary undertaking was simple: “Dream big. Realize you’re probably capable more than you’d think.”
