Carl Bushby completes 28-year walk and returns to England

Carl Bushby, the British adventurer who set out on foot from the southern tip of Chile in 1998, has completed the long-planned march back to his home country after 28 years on the road and is now in the final miles of his journey to his birthplace in Kingston upon Hull.

End of a 28-year odyssey

Bushby began the so-called Goliath Expedition in November 1998 from Punta Arenas, Chile, determined to walk nonstop to his hometown without ever returning to the United Kingdom or using any motorized transport. The former paratrooper and author, born 30 March 1969, stuck to those rules throughout an odyssey that took him across four continents.

Over the decades he pushed through the Darién Gap jungles, crossed the frozen Bering Strait and, in recent weeks, swam the English Channel. Now 57, he has reached England (arriving in October 2026 after 28 years on the journey) and is expected to arrive in Kingston upon Hull in November 2026 to be welcomed by family.

"It is a challenge, at the most basic level. It is just this enormous challenge with this incredible lifestyle, this is an amazing achievement. And then the world said, well, no, you can't do it. You’re not the kind of person who can do it and they were right. I wasn't anything special. You know, I struggle physically with most things. That's how it was, and somehow I knew I could," Bushby said.

Family members awaiting his return include his 36-year-old son Adam, a 12-year-old granddaughter he has never met, his father and his brothers; his mother will be waiting at the childhood home he left 28 years ago.

Bushby's expedition, launched when he was 29, has been described as unique: he set out to be the first person in history to walk such a continuous route without motorized assistance. After reaching England in October 2026, the concluding stage to his native Kingston upon Hull is scheduled for November 2026.

Photo: press material from the event