Man walks 31,000 miles home to Mom. It took 28 years
'Where have you been?' asked Karl Bushby's mother Angela
When someone says they're going home, you picture them taking a cab, booking a flight, or hopping on a train, not walking thousands of miles home. That was what former British paratrooper, author, and walking adventurer Karl Bushby meant when he said he was going home in 1998. He began his journey from Chile as a 29-year-old young man. Now, at 56, he's finally home at his mother's house in Hull after 28 years of walking. BBC News covered his story on November 2, 2026, which has gotten 357,219 views, 2,400 likes, and 528 comments in under 24 hours.
Bering Strait to the English Channel
Bushby walked for 28 years from Chile across the Bering Strait, crossing Russia to the U.S., and even swam the English Channel. After walking 31,000 miles (50,000 km), he finally received a warm welcome by the people of Hull and a few others. But the warmest of all was his first hug with his mother, Angela, after spending almost three decades away from her. Before he saw his family, he walked the last miles home from the Humber Bridge to Hull City Center, where the Lord Mayor gave him a civic reception.
The moment Angela saw her son, she walked up to hug him and tearfully joked, "Where have you been?" When Bushby announced his decision to walk from Chile to Hull, Angela was "gobsmacked." She told the news outlet, "Karl has always been headstrong. Once Karl puts his mind to something, he does it." Bushby's father, Keith, supported his son's decision.
Experiencing 'tradition'
Kevin Shoesmith, a reporter for the BBC, asked Bushby if he had time to soak in the beauty of the places he traveled through. Bushby said, "I'm seeing the world in a lot of detail... usand it's not like the vacation-style detail where you're going to a place to learn the culture and the food and all that kind of thing." The difference was that he was not spending lots of money to experience "tradition." When it came to traditional food, he experienced it by "shoveling plates in someone's house on the side of a road somewhere, but that's their traditional stuff."
Checking off bucket lists
Bushby inspired several people to start their journeys. Chad Thomas from Wakefield was one of them. He met Bushby in Azerbaijan and followed him. Thomas said, "If he can walk around the world for 28 years, what’s the last few miles with him?" Pete Hobson was another individual inspired by Bushby. Hobson will make his journey around the world on his cycle.
This shows how people take more risks in life when inspired by others. A 2024 Talker Research survey found that 58% of Americans wished they were more adventurous. Out of 2,000 respondents, 41% had a bucket list of things they want to do and places they would like to visit. Another 2023 study from ALLY found that 90% of Americans had bucket lists, but more than one-third of respondents did not cross any goals from their list for the past year. 75% blamed finances for not crossing things off their bucket list. Bushby can be considered one of the few men who turned an ambitious dream into reality, no matter how long it took or how far he had to travel.
Epic adventure book
Viewers praised Bushby for his incredible feat. Some were shocked by the fact that he had a son. @JonnMueller wrote, "If walking is good for your health, this guy is immortal." @humanmerelybeing1966 commented, "Wow, I'm sort of shocked to learn he had a son before he left. Imagine asking a little boy what their dad does and hearing, 'He went for a walk a few years ago, but Mum says he's on his way home.'" Bushby's journey will be turned into a documentary by German film director Werner Herzog.
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