As Karl Bushby received a hero’s welcome in Hull after completing his 31,000-mile walk around the world, attention has also turned to the family he left behind – particularly his former wife, Angela Tivnen, who raised their son alone.
Bushby, 57, was greeted by marching bands, military parades and hundreds of people as he completed the final steps of a journey that began 28 years ago. His expedition took him through some of the world’s most challenging terrain, including the frozen Bering Strait and the jungles of the Darién Gap.
Calls for the adventurer to receive a knighthood followed, with the Prime Minister describing his achievement as being of “truly remarkable proportions”. But the public celebration has also prompted questions about the cost of his ambition to those closest to him.
Tivnen, speaking publicly about the expedition for the first time, said she had been left to bring up their son Adam, who was eight when Bushby set off in 1998.
“I had to learn to do everything myself. I did not need to rely on a man to bring up my son. I did it myself. Me and Adam got on with it and we were absolutely fine,” she said.
She added: “It’s just life. Things happen, and I can’t blame Karl for wanting to follow his dreams and do what he wants to do.
“I know Adam got caught in the crossfire, and there was obvious hurt, but we worked through it. I have no animosity towards Karl and what he has done is an absolute achievement.
“I know we are the family that were left behind but we got on with that… we had our lives and we were happy.”
Karl Bushby’s family left behind
Bushby originally expected the journey to take 12 years. Instead, financial problems, visa difficulties and the Covid-19 pandemic contributed to an expedition lasting more than twice as long.
Only 15 years of the 28-year period were spent walking. A lack of sponsorship after the 2008 financial crash left him in Mexico for two years, while Russian visa problems caused further delays. During the pandemic, he returned to Mexico by plane, which he said was permitted because he was not travelling home.
He also formed relationships during the expedition, including a seven-year relationship with a woman in Colombia and a three-year relationship with a Japanese woman in Mongolia.
For Adam, now 36, his father’s absence meant missing many of the ordinary milestones of childhood and early adulthood, including his first day at school, college, his driving test, birthdays, Christmas and New Year.
He has described life as “challenging at some points”, but said: “You just have to get up and get on with it.”
Adam said his mother “deserved a medal for sure”. Tivnen said the conversation about Bushby’s departure had been particularly difficult because Adam was so young when she explained that his father would not return for 12 years.
“Yes, it was very hard for him and he really didn’t understand. He was very young. He was hurt, I was hurt,” she said.
“It was difficult for him not to have his dad in his life because he did worship him. He always has and he still does.”
Despite seeing his father only a handful of times during his childhood, Adam continued to hold him in high regard. He travelled with his grandmother to meet Bushby in Alaska in 2004, and joined him again in 2014 during part of his journey across the United States.
That trip featured in a National Geographic documentary following Bushby’s walk from Los Angeles to Washington DC. Tivnen said Adam returned with stories from what had been “the adventure of a lifetime”.
“Adam is so upbeat. He sees everything as an adventure, too. He’s so much like his dad. He just loved it, and he loved being with his dad,” she said.
Adam was among the family members who gathered at the Humber Bridge to welcome Bushby back to Britain this week. He also introduced his father to his 12-year-old daughter.
Tivnen did not attend the homecoming.
A marriage that ended before the expedition
Tivnen met Bushby when she was 18 and he was a year older and serving as a paratrooper in the British Army. He was based at the Palace Barracks in Holywood, County Down, where she worked in an NAAFI shop.
They had Adam in 1990 and married the following year, when their son was ten months old, at Holywood town castle. The couple then moved to the Army base at Aldershot in Hampshire.
But army life placed strain on the young family. Bushby was posted back to Northern Ireland, leaving Tivnen in a new country with a baby and without the support of friends or relatives.
“We married so young and had Adam so young. Army life and being an army wife is really hard,” she said.
The marriage ended in 1995. Tivnen and Adam returned to Belfast so she could be closer to her family, while Bushby remained in England and saw his son when he could.
When Bushby later told them about his plan to walk an unbroken route around the world without using motorised transport, Tivnen said she was shocked. The route was to take him from Chile through the Americas, across the Bering Strait, and through Russia, Asia and Europe before reaching Hull.
“When he sets his sights on something, he always goes for it,” she said.
She also said she understood that Bushby wanted to pursue his ambition, despite the effect his absence had on their son.
Bushby has acknowledged that his life since leaving Britain was “purely selfish”. He also warned: “Be careful what it is you celebrate and who your heroes are. If you look at the lives of people like [the explorers Sir Ernest] Shackleton and [Captain James] Cook and the others, they were horrible husbands and fathers.”
Tivnen said she and Adam “could have done with more support” over the years, but insisted she did not blame her former husband for following his dream.
Questions over the 28-year journey
The scale of the welcome in Hull has led some in the extreme sports community to question whether Bushby’s achievement has been presented accurately.
Adventurer Johnny Ward said the crossings of the Bering Strait and the Darién Gap were significant accomplishments, but disputed the description of the expedition as a continuous 28-year journey home.
“The main thing is the narrative of the 28 years, that’s the biggest nonsense of all,” he said.
“He had a Colombian girlfriend for seven years and a Japanese girlfriend for three years. He had an entire life, ten years, elsewhere.”
Ward said Bushby had not simply been walking steadily towards Britain, but had spent periods living elsewhere and had not returned to see his family.
Bushby remained in contact with Adam when he could, initially through occasional telephone calls and postcards. Communication became easier as technology developed and Adam grew older.
Despite the years apart, Tivnen said Adam had no ill-feeling towards his father and had inherited his appetite for travel. Unlike Bushby, however, Adam could not imagine leaving his partner and daughter for such an expedition.
“His life revolves around them,” Tivnen said.
For Adam, she added, a 28-year adventure – or absence – would never be worth the cost.
