Althouse: "For nearly 28 years Karl Bushby has been walking around the world with two rules: no transport and no going home to Hull unless he arrives on foot."

October 7, 2026

"For nearly 28 years Karl Bushby has been walking around the world with two rules: no transport and no going home to Hull unless he arrives on foot."

"On Monday afternoon, for the first time since 1998, the former paratrooper, now aged 57, stepped on to British soil after swimming the Channel. Bushby started his epic trek in Chile on November 1, 1998, shortly after leaving his mother Angela’s home in east Yorkshire. Since then, he has traversed the Darién Gap as fighting raged between the Colombian government and Marxist guerrillas; covered the frozen Bering Strait on foot; and become the first person known to have swum 184 miles across the Caspian Sea....He swam on his back the whole time as he is 'not a swimmer' and it is the 'most energy efficient way.'..."

From "Adventurer sets foot on British soil after 28-year walk home/Karl Bushby arrived in Kent after swimming the Channel for the final stage of a 30,000-mile journey from Chile back to Hull" (London Times).

How does he pay for this lengthy adventure? "Werner Herzog is directing a feature-length documentary about Bushby’s journey, titled Walk of Life, co-produced by Westward Productions, which has been supporting the adventurer for the past 16 years."

14 comments:

Original Mike said...: "On Monday afternoon, for the first time since 1998, the former paratrooper, now aged 57, stepped on to British soil …"

I doubt he'll recognize the place.; 10/7/26, 10:55 AM
CJinPA said...: Hope it's well chronicled to prevent any Rosie Ruiz-ing.

Comedian Paul F. Tompkins does great Werner Herzog riffs. Can't wait to hear him doing the dour German accent "The frosty Bering Strait could not match my frozen disregard for a journey that has become a silent march of death for all involved."; 10/7/26, 10:57 AM
Hassayamper said...: What was he doing all that time? In 28 years, Tinkerbell could have ridden around the world on the back of a snail.; 10/7/26, 11:03 AM
Saint Croix said...: Werner Herzog is directing a feature-length documentary about Bushby’s journey, titled Walk of Life

That's a good title if you're pregnant

or carrying a baby; 10/7/26, 11:27 AM
Hombre said...: Back in Britain this ex-paratrooper will be disappointed to find a caliphate temporarily overseen by weenies.; 10/7/26, 11:31 AM
Two-eyed Jack said...: Sometimes I question my choices in life, what I have done and what I have attempted. Setting up some set of ideosyncratic rules that keep me away from home for large chunks of my time on this curious earth, while followed by Werner Herzog is not something I had considered.; 10/7/26, 11:36 AM
David53 said...: He should sign a shoe deal, the commercials would be epic.; 10/7/26, 12:00 PM
Lazarus said...: So is he swimming across the Atlantic, walking up and down in the aisle of an airplane, or spending all his time on a treadmill in the gym of the QE 2?; 10/7/26, 12:09 PM
RCOCEAN II said...: 28 years and 30 thousand miles. About 1000 miles a year. I assume he's taking weeks off, and not walking on lots of days. 52 weeks x 20 miles = 1000 miles.; 10/7/26, 12:11 PM
Tom T. said...: He started in Chile, walked up through South and North America, across the frozen Bering Strait, and then across Eurasia. He had to double back and resume after long delays a few times, due to visa issues in the US and Russia, and sponsorship money sometimes ran out. He also could only walk across Russia in the winter when the roads were frozen; otherwise it's all impassable mud.

He left behind a son who was just a little kid and who is now over 30. He's only seen his mother a couple of times. He's chosen to go it alone. To me, the human contact that he's missed out on would outweigh the sights and natural wonders that he's surely experienced, but presumably he doesn't weigh his choices the same way.; 10/7/26, 12:35 PM
rehajm said...: “What does it mean, this absurd pilgrimage? A man walking around the world to return to the place he left, refusing every convenience that modernity offers? Nature does not applaud. The universe does not notice. There is no deeper meaning waiting at the end of thirty thousand miles, no revelation carved into the landscape. There is only the man, and the road, and the strange, ecstatic truth that some human beings are compelled to test the limits of their own existence against the silence of the world…”

…thanks Werner Grok…; 10/7/26, 1:37 PM
Smilin' Jack said...: “…and become the first person known to have swum 184 miles across the Caspian Sea....

Color me dubious on that one. God says:

“Longest Unassisted Ocean Swim: Neil Agius swam 142.3 kilometers (88.4 miles) non-stop around the Maltese islands in 60 hours during 2024.”; 10/7/26, 2:00 PM
hanuman_prodigious_leaper said...: 20th/21st c ODYSSEY! Has wife been waiting? Son fighting off suitors?; 10/7/26, 6:05 PM
William said...: This puts one in mind of Samuel Johnson's comment about a dog dancing on its hind legs. I think the dog, however, was given periodic treats for his achievement. Probably not so much for this guy. I don't thinkthis biopic will be as good as the one on the grizzly bear enthusiast. Maybe if he gets killed by a migrant.; 10/7/26, 6:45 PM