By GB News (World News) | Created at 2026-10-07 09:46:11 | Updated at 2026-10-07 13:08:42
3 hours ago
A British adventurer who has spent close to three decades walking around the world has finally returned to the UK after swimming across the English Channel in a triumphant climax to his journey.
Karl Bushby, 57, arrived at Shakespeare Beach, south of Dover, on Monday after completing the Channel crossing to end a 36,000-mile expedition that began in Chile in November 1998.
His ambition was to become the first person to continuously circumnavigate the globe on foot, which saw him travel through 29 countries, overcoming a series of obstacles which repeatedly forced him to alter his route.
Now on UK soil for the first time in near 30 years, Mr Bushby is due to continue to his family home in Hull, East Yorkshire, where his 28-year adventure will officially come to an end.
Karl said: "Feels good to have UK soil under my feet after all these years. It hasn't been easy, and that's part of the point.
"Proving I'm more capable than I give myself credit for. All of us can accomplish more than we will ever imagine."
Family and friends gathered at the beach to welcome him back to Britain. He was also met by acclaimed filmmaker Werner Herzog and his crew, who are documenting the expedition for a feature-length film titled Walk Of Life.
The final stage of his journey only came after a dispute over how he would get from France to Britain, with months of indecision almost resulting in a much more underwhelming climax.
In 2024, Mr Bushby swam 186 miles across the Caspian Sea to avoid travelling through Russia or Iran
GETTY
As the son of an SAS soldier and a former paratrooper himself, Karl had hoped to use the Channel Tunnel rather than enter the busy shipping lane. However, he was refused access to the tunnel this summer.
Eurotunnel said allowing him to use its service tunnel, which runs alongside the main passenger tunnel, would create a safety risk and interfere with essential maintenance operations.
French officials also pointed to a 2018 prefectoral order, stating Channel crossings by swimmers are permitted from the UK to France, but not in the opposite direction.
He ultimately secured the necessary permissions after much back and forth and coordinated with the French and UK coast guards before undertaking the swim.
Before the swim, Karl spent time in Mexico, where he retires between stages of his expedition to comply with visa requirements, recover and plan future routes – before crossing to Belgium and on to France.
The Channel was just the latest major obstacle encountered during his expedition, which has taken him across some of the world's most challenging terrain and waterways.
In 2024, Mr Bushby swam 186 miles across the Caspian Sea to avoid travelling through Russia or Iran amid heightened tensions with the West.
He has also crossed the Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama, one of the world's most difficult overland routes, and became the first Briton to walk across the Bering Strait between North America and Russia.
Karl Bushby also crossed the Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama, one of the world's most difficult overland routes
GETTY
Despite those feats, Karl said the most difficult aspects of the expedition have instead been securing visas and obtaining permission to use the Channel Tunnel.
The final leg will now take him north to Hull, where his mother, Angela, has promised to wait for him at the front gate of the family home.
Karl has previously estimated that he will fully complete the journey on November 1, nearly 28 years after he first set out from Chile.
The threat to Karl's journey came with some irony after France stopped his journey despite failing to stop the more than 200,000 small boat migrants who have crossed the Channel since 2018.
