Karl Bushby: Man who spent 28 years walking the globe given hero’s welcome as he completes quest in Hull

A British man who has been circumnavigating the globe on foot since 1998 has arrived back in his home town of Hull after crossing the Humber Bridge through thick mist.

Karl Bushby, from Hull, who started his epic journey in Chile 28 years ago, was “overwhelmed” by the crowds who lined the bridge on the final leg of his 31,000-mile (49,890 km) journey.

"[I'm] just absolutely overwhelmed," he said on Sunday when he spoke to BBC Radio Humberside.

"And we're not even home yet,” he said referring to himself and his cart, called The Beast, which Mr Bushby has been pushing for 28 years.

"This is my Wilson," he said, a reference to a volleyball that Tom Hanks's character talked to in the film Cast Away.

"I'm just a homeless guy pushing a shopping trolley, and the next thing you know is this," he said, pointing to the crowds lining the bridge.

He told the broadcaster the bridge is “almost symbolic” and has always been an “iconic landmark” in his eyes.

The 57-year-old former paratrooper has travelled through 29 countries, self-imposed rules that meant he did not use any transport and could not return home until he had completed the challenge.

He has trekked across the Darién Gap as fighting raged between the Colombian government and Marxist guerrillas, made the first ever recorded crossing of the Bering Strait on foot from east to west and became the first person to swim 184 miles across the Caspian Sea. He crossed into Europe last year and arrived at the English Channel last month.

Mr Bushby is due to complete the challenge on Monday and will be met by his mother, his son and granddaughter when he arrives in Hull.

Mr Bushby swam the English Channel and walked onto Shakespeare beach, south of Dover on Monday afternoon 5 October. But he initially wanted to walk along the Channel Tunnel rather than swim to Dover, however, his request was denied due to safety concerns and maintenance work.

But even getting permission for the swim across the Channel proved difficult. That’s because the French only allow cross-channel swims to depart from the UK and not from France.

Mr Bushby had to secure special permission from the French government and co-ordinated with both French and UK coastguards and did not publicise exactly when it would take place for security reasons.

After 20 hours in the water and three days at sea battling strong winds, Mr Bushby finally made it home and was welcomed to shore by his father, brothers and some friends.

"[It] feels good to have UK soil under my feet after all these years,” he told ITV news.

"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,” he added.

Throughout his journey he was hit by visa restrictions, the 2008 financial crash which cost him his sponsors, the Covid-19 pandemic causing multiple lockdowns and geopolitical uncertainty.

The adventurer’s incredible world hike, officially titled Goliath Expedition, followed his 12 years in the army. The question of how far one could go stretched into “this ridiculous line all the way from the UK down to the bottom of South America”, he told The Times.

He left his mothers house 28 years ago and expected the journey to only take 12 years, now his journey is almost over.