Karl Bushby's 28-year walk around the world ends in Hull: the numbers

Karl Bushby, a British former paratrooper, completed his walk around the world on Monday, 2 November 2026, when he reached his mother's home in Hull, in northern England. He had set out on foot from Punta Arenas, at the southern tip of Chile, on 1 November 1998, when he was 29. Over 28 years he covered roughly 31,000 miles, about 50,000 kilometres, across four continents and 30 countries, according to reports of his arrival. He was given a welcome at Hull's City Hall before pushing his cart the final stretch to his mother's door, where she embraced him.

Bushby's walk, which he called the Goliath Expedition, began before most of today's students were born and ended after social media, smartphones and a global pandemic had changed the world he was walking through. That alone makes it a story about patience: a single goal held for nearly three decades.

The obstacles he faced were not only physical. Money ran out when sponsors pulled back after the 2008 financial crisis. Borders closed during the pandemic. Visas and permits held him up for long periods, and his own rule against sailing meant that crossing water required special arrangements. The final stage brought its own question: how to reach Britain from mainland Europe without sailing. These problems are a reminder that big personal projects depend as much on paperwork, funding and planning as on stamina.

For young readers, the walk offers a different way of looking at goals. Bushby did not move steadily: he walked, stopped for long periods, and resumed. Progress on long projects, whether a degree, a business or a fitness goal, often looks like that. He also spoke after arriving about his anxiety over what comes next, now that the journey that shaped his adult life is over, a feeling familiar to anyone finishing a long chapter.

Peepals calculation: about 31,000 miles in 28 years is an average of roughly 1,100 miles a year (31,000 ÷ 28 ≈ 1,107), or about 3 miles a day (1,107 ÷ 365 ≈ 3.0). Because the walk was stopped for years at a time, his pace on the days he actually walked was much higher than this average. In kilometres, 31,000 miles is about 49,900 km (31,000 × 1.609). Our calculation from the reported figures.

Short-term: Bushby's return draws attention to long-distance walking and to the support, both money and permissions, that such expeditions need.

Long-term: His account of the walk adds to the record of long human-powered journeys and may encourage others to take on slow, long-term challenges.

Who is affected: Bushby and his family; adventurers and expedition planners; sponsors who back long projects; and readers looking for examples of persistence.

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