British Trekker Finishes 31,000-Mile Global Walk After 28 Years
WHO:
CBS News - Karl Bushby, a British trekker and former paratrooper, returned to Hull at age 57 after setting out at 29.
NBC News - Bushby returned to his mother Angela’s home; his father, Keith, an Army veteran, helped inspire the expedition.
CBS News - Bushby said, “I didn’t do this alone. There was a big team, the biggest team: Earth.”
NBC News - Bushby said, “They say it takes a village but literally it took a world to get me here,” and credited the kindness of individuals and nation states.
CBS News - Bushby described the journey’s challenges as involving illness, visa restrictions, governments, armed gangs, jail, and a polar bear.
WHAT:
CBS News - Bushby completed the “Goliath Expedition,” a roughly 28-year global walk involving an estimated 75 million steps; the article describes the route as about 30,000 miles.
NBC News - Bushby completed a 31,000-mile journey across four continents and 30 countries.
CBS News - He finished with a walk of roughly three miles through Hull, pushing the cart he had used for about 25 years, and embraced his mother outside her home.
NBC News - Supporters accompanied Bushby on his final approach; he joked, “Sorry to keep you waiting,” and asked, “Is that it, is it done?”
CBS News - Bushby said he felt unsettled about returning home, saying parts of the world felt more like home after his long absence. He urged people to “Dream big” and said they may be more capable than they think.
WHERE:
CBS News - Bushby arrived in Hull, a port city in northern England about 150 miles north of London, and walked to his mother’s neighborhood.
NBC News - The expedition crossed South and North America, Asia, and Europe, ending at Angela Bushby’s row house in Hull.
CBS News - His route included the Darien Gap, Russia, Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, France, and the English Channel.
WHEN:
CBS News - The expedition lasted 28 years and one day; Bushby had spent more than 10,000 days away from home.
NBC News - Bushby set out from Punta Arenas, Chile, on Nov. 1, 1998.
CBS News - Bushby swam across the Caspian Sea for 31 days and crossed the English Channel during the final stretch.
WHY:
NBC News - Bushby’s father sent him a birthday card in the mid-90s describing a debate among special forces troops about walking from London to New York across the Bering land bridge; the idea helped shape the expedition.
HOW:
CBS News - Bushby’s self-imposed rules barred him from using machines to advance his journey and from returning home during the expedition.
NBC News - He crossed the Bering Strait over shifting ice and swam across the Caspian Sea and English Channel to avoid using boats or planes.
CBS News - He crossed the Bering Sea from Canada to Russia and swam the Caspian Sea to bypass the war in Ukraine.
(UPDATED November 2, 2026 17:02 UTC)
Karl Bushby completed a 31,000-mile global trek, returning to Hull after 28 years. The British trekker, now 57, embraced his mother outside her home. His route crossed four continents and 30 countries, overcoming illness, borders, and armed gangs.