Karl Bushby has been traveling the world on foot for nearly 30 years. He began his epic journey in 1998 from Punta Arenas, Chile, with a plan to cover 36,000 miles. Bushby set two rules for himself: to never use transport and to not return to the UK until he had completed the journey.
Over the years, Bushby has faced numerous setbacks, including being detained by Russian officials and spending 18 days in prison in Panama for entering without a visa. He has also had to evade bandits in the notoriously dangerous Darien Gap and deal with the theft of his trailer, which forced him to wait a month for replacement items.
Despite these challenges, Bushby has made significant progress, crossing all terrains, including the Bering Strait in 2006, a 58-mile stretch of frozen sea linking North America and Russia. He also swam more than 170 miles over 31 days across the Caspian Sea from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan in 2024.
Bushby's current goal is to cross the English Channel, but he is facing difficulties. The French Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre has referenced a 2018 'prefectural order' confirming a restriction on his swim. Bushby had hoped to use the Eurotunnel but is now planning to swim the 21-mile distance.
Bushby has secured a support boat for October and expects to take two or three days to swim across to the UK. He is currently in Mexico, where he takes breaks between stages of his challenge to meet visa regulations and plan routes. He will be back in Belgium in early September and preparing for the swim in France later that month.
Once Bushby completes his journey, he will walk to Hull, where it will end at his childhood home. Despite the setbacks, Bushby remains determined to complete his journey on foot, with minimal use of alternative methods. He has become accustomed to traversing vast bodies of water but prefers not to swim.
