Karl Bushby Finishes 28-Year Walk Around the World With Emotional Reunion With His Mother in Hull

After 28 years on foot, Karl Bushby is finally home. The British adventurer ended his walk around the world on Monday, Nov. 2, at the front door of his childhood home in Hull, England, where his mother, Angela, threw her arms around him and asked: “Where have you been?”

The former British Army paratrooper set off from Punta Arenas, Chile, in November 1998, aged 29, to walk an unbroken line back home. He followed two rules he set for himself, the BBC reported: no going back to the UK until the journey was finished, and no using transport to move forward along the route.

Karl Bushby’s mother: the reunion in Hull

As they had agreed years earlier, Angela Bushby waited for her son at the house in Sutton Park where she raised him, the BBC said. She had not seen him for about a decade. The AP described her weeping in his arms as he arrived outside the home he left nearly three decades ago.

“It’s good to have him home,” she told reporters. “I feel relieved.”

Bushby seemed almost lost for words. “It feels surreal. It’s the end of a 28-year journey,” he told the BBC moments after the reunion. The Guardian reported that he joked, “Where have I been?” as his mother sobbed into his chest.

Angela, a retired snack-factory packer, had earlier told the BBC she was “gobsmacked” when he first told her his plan in 1998. “Karl has always been headstrong,” she said. “Once Karl puts his mind to something, he does it.” His father, Keith, a former SAS soldier, backed the idea, according to the BBC.

A hero’s welcome on the final miles

Bushby crossed the Humber Bridge on Sunday and said he was “overwhelmed” by the reception, the BBC reported. On Monday, crowds lined Hull’s city center, and the Lord Mayor held a civic reception for him at City Hall before he walked the final few miles to his mother’s house. The Guardian said television cameras followed him and a news helicopter flew overhead.

The BBC also reported that Prime Minister Andy Burnham sent him a letter of congratulations praising his determination and self-belief.

How far did Karl Bushby walk?

Reports give different totals. The BBC and AP put the journey at about 31,000 miles (50,000 km). The Guardian described it as a 36,000-mile walk across 29 countries. His age is also reported differently: the AP and the Guardian say he is 57, while the BBC’s live coverage gave his age as 56. Whatever the exact numbers, the Guardian called him the first person to walk continuously across the planet.

The route: from Chile to Hull

According to the BBC, Bushby’s route crossed four continents. Some of the hardest parts included:

• Starting at the southern tip of South America and heading north through the Americas
• Crossing the Bering Strait between Russia and the US
• Walking thousands of miles across Russia and Asia, including a spell in Russian custody, the Guardian noted
• Swimming the English Channel to reach Britain, since his rules banned using a ferry or train

The Guardian said he faced polar bears, kidnappers and Russian detention along the way.

Ties to the United States

Bushby’s walk took him across the US over several years, and some of the Americans who helped him came to Hull for the finish. The BBC spoke to Biju Kurian, who traveled from the US for the occasion and said he hosted Bushby for nine days when the walker passed through Oklahoma in 2014. The BBC also reported that the expedition was mostly self-funded, though sponsors, including a US-based documentary company, joined along the way.

Quick answers

Who is Karl Bushby? A former British paratrooper who spent 28 years walking from Chile back to his hometown of Hull, England.

When did he finish? Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, at his mother’s home in Hull.

Who greeted him? His mother, Angela Bushby, who asked, “Where have you been?”