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A British Army veteran has returned to his home country after a 28-year journey across four continents — but his trek isn’t quite over.
Karl Bushby, a 57-year-old former paratrooper, reached England this week after swimming across the English Channel from France, marking the latest milestone in an around-the-world expedition that he embarked on in 1998.
Now, he has roughly 250 miles left to walk before reuniting with his mother, whom he hasn’t seen in 11 years.
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Bushby spent about 20 hours swimming in the English Channel over three days before reaching Shakespeare Beach near Dover on Oct. 5, according to the BBC.
Karl Bushby returned to British soil after swimming across the English Channel as part of his 28-year journey around the world. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
“Getting in the water that first day, I thought, ‘Have I taken too much of a bite here?'” Bushby told the outlet. “But you dig deep. Keep on keeping on. You find a rhythm.”
Bushby hadn’t even trained for the last leg of the trip and after about an hour in the water, he was cramping and doubting whether he could finish, he told the BBC.
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But the Channel crossing was just the latest obstacle in an expedition spanning more than 30,000 miles and 29 countries.
Bushby set out from Chile on Nov. 1, 1998, and set two rules for himself: He would not use transportation including planes, trains, boats or cars to advance his expedition route and he would not return home to Hull until he had finished it.
British adventurer Karl Bushby walked through Cameron, North Carolina, in 2014 during the U.S. leg of his journey. (Megan Morr/Washington Post)
His route took him the length of South America, through North America and across the Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia.
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Along the way, he trekked through the Darién Gap between Panama and Colombia and, in 2006, crossed the frozen Bering Strait on foot and over ice with Dimitri Kieffer, a French-American adventurer.
More recently, Bushby swam about 184 miles across the Caspian Sea before continuing west toward Europe.
British adventurer Karl Bushby celebrates after swimming across the Caspian Sea from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan in September 2024. (Resul Rehimov/Anadolu via Getty Images)
His expedition faced delays related to visa restrictions, the loss of sponsors during the 2008 financial crisis, COVID-19 lockdowns and geopolitical turmoil, according to reports.
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Bushby began his expedition with just $500 and no sponsors, relying over the years on book sales, speaking engagements, donations and corporate sponsorships to keep going. A documentary production company also provided support for the past 16 years, according to reports.
When Bushby finally reached France, he was hoping to cross into England on foot through the Channel Tunnel’s service tunnel, which connects both countries, but his request was rejected over safety and maintenance concerns, according to the BBC, leaving him to swim the English Channel instead.
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Bushby said floating on his back at night and looking at the stars offered a distraction from the physical pain he was in during the swim.
Karl Bushby walks through Dover, England, on Oct. 9 as he begins the final 250-mile leg of his 28-year journey. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
“You’re far away from light pollution and have the whole night sky in front of you,” he said. “It gave me something to think about and took my mind off the pain and aches. It was amazing.”
The last leg of the journey will bring him to his mother, who he hasn’t seen since 2015, in the port city of Hull, The Times of London reported. He is expected to arrive in early November.
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“I walked away from that place 28 years ago and that is where we are going to wrap it up,” he told the outlet. “That’s about 400 kilometers from here, so I’ve got to get busy.”