British Veteran Ends 28-Year, 50,000km Walk Around the World
Karl Bushby, a former British soldier, has completed one of history's greatest walking journeys, crossing continents and the Bering Strait on foot since 1998.
A former British soldier has done what almost no one in history has managed: he has walked around the world. Karl Bushby arrived back in London recently, 28 years after setting off on a journey that took him across some 50,000 kilometres of the planet's most challenging terrain.
Bushby left the United Kingdom in 1998. Rather than flying or sailing to his starting point, he committed to completing the entire route on foot, beginning in Chile, moving through South America, crossing the United States, and eventually reaching one of the most dangerous stretches of his entire adventure: the Bering Strait, the narrow body of water that separates Alaska from Russia's Far East.
"It was an incredible mix of ice and water," Bushby said of the crossing. "It's polar bear paradise, but for a human being, it's the worst place you could possibly be."
From the Bering Strait, he continued westward across Asia and through Europe, eventually making his way back to British soil, a moment he described as almost surreal after nearly three decades on the road.
"It's so strange to be here," he said upon returning to London. "There were so many obstacles to overcome. For a long time, coming back to the UK seemed unimaginable."
The journey was not funded by a large corporate sponsor for most of its duration. Bushby slept regularly in a tent and relied heavily on the kindness of local people he met along the way, supplemented in more recent years by a small number of sponsors. He was accompanied in his final days by friends who joined him for the last leg of the walk.
Bushby, who served in the British Army before embarking on the challenge, said the drive behind the mission was always personal. "The challenge, the thirst for adventure, I have always had a taste for distant horizons," he explained.
The feat places Bushby among a tiny number of people ever to have circumnavigated the globe entirely on foot. The route included continents, frozen straits, and dozens of countries, making it one of the longest and most sustained solo overland journeys ever recorded.
He has hinted that despite completing this monumental chapter, a new adventure may already be taking shape, suggesting that for Bushby, the finish line may simply be the start of something else.
Source: ION News
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Karl Bushby and what did he achieve?β
Karl Bushby is a former British Army soldier who set out in 1998 to walk around the entire world. After 28 years and approximately 50,000 kilometres, he completed the journey by returning to London on foot, having crossed South America, the United States, the Bering Strait, Asia, and Europe.
How did Karl Bushby cross the Bering Strait on foot?β
The Bering Strait, which separates Alaska in the United States from Russia's Far East, was one of the most dangerous parts of Bushby's journey. He crossed it over a mix of shifting ice and open water, a route he described as extremely hazardous and territory far better suited to polar bears than humans.
How long did Karl Bushby's walk around the world take?β
Bushby's global walk took 28 years, beginning in 1998 when he departed the United Kingdom and ending with his return to London. The total distance covered was approximately 50,000 kilometres, making it one of the longest continuous journeys on foot ever recorded.
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