Who is Karl Bushby? Why is he unique in the modern world?

Karl Bushby is a British walking adventurer and former paratrooper who is now roughly 1,000 miles from completing an unbroken walk around the world. He began his Goliath Expedition in November 1998 from the southern tip of Chile and aims to step back into his hometown of Hull, England, in September 2026. The attempt has become one of the longest and most demanding human journeys on foot in the modern era.

Over almost three decades he has crossed 25 countries and more than 58,000km on foot under strict rules he set for himself. He does not use motorised transport to move his route forward and refuses to return home until he can arrive there on foot. Those rules, combined with political delays, financial problems and a global pandemic, turned what started as a 12 year idea into a life defining mission.

Karl Bushby’s path from ex paratrooper to global walker

Bushby was born on March 30, 1969, in Hull, England, and grew up far from the life of a professional explorer. He joined the British Army at 16 and served with the Parachute Regiment for about 11 years, an experience that hardened his fitness and appetite for risk. Friends and family describe those years as the foundation for the endurance and discipline that his later journey demanded.

The idea for his walk began as a bold challenge in his late twenties. In 1998 he decided he would leave South America on foot and not stop until he had circled the planet and walked back into Hull on the same continuous line. The planned route covered roughly 36,000 miles, or about 58,000km, and he initially thought the journey might take about a decade.

He set off from Punta Arenas in Chile in November 1998 with paper maps, a small budget and a tent. His early years took him through Patagonia, the Andes, Central America and Mexico, often sleeping by the roadside or in the homes of people who invited him in. He later walked the length of the United States and Canada, including remote stretches of Alaska that tested both his survival skills and his morale.

One of the most dangerous phases came when he crossed the Darién Gap between Panama and Colombia, a dense jungle notorious for crime, rough terrain and disease. From there he pushed north and, in 2006, crossed the Bering Strait from Alaska to Russia on foot with fellow adventurer Dimitri Kieffer. The crossing involved days of climbing over shifting sea ice and remains one of the least repeated feats in modern exploration.

Reaching Russia brought a new set of challenges. Bushby was detained for 57 days after entering at an unofficial border point in the remote Chukotka region, then spent years battling visa limits that allowed him to stay in Russia for only part of each year. In 2013 he was hit with a five year Russian visa ban and responded by walking thousands of kilometres from Los Angeles to the Russian Embassy in Washington, where he eventually helped secure the reversal of that ban.

Financial setbacks and the 2008 economic crisis forced him to pause in Mexico while he searched for sponsors. Later, the COVID 19 pandemic froze borders worldwide and again stalled his progress. Even so, he kept to his rule of never advancing the route by vehicle and always restarting from the exact point where he had last stopped.

In 2024, with overland routes blocked by tensions surrounding Iran and Russia, Bushby and fellow long distance walker Angela Maxwell swam across the Caspian Sea from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan. They covered roughly 288km in about a month, swimming in long daily sessions and sleeping on support boats at night. From there he continued on foot into the Caucasus, then Turkey and finally into Europe.

Recent reports place him in Central or Eastern Europe, after crossings of Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. Estimates from late 2025 suggest he has around 1,000 miles left before he can finish the loop and walk into Hull. If visas and funding hold, that homecoming is expected around September 2026.

Why Karl Bushby matters in the modern world

Bushby’s journey stands out in part because it began before smartphones, satellite navigation apps and social media were everyday tools. For many years he relied on paper maps, word of mouth and letters from home to plan the route and stay connected. The walk shows how a single person can move across a connected but often divided world using slow, physical travel instead of instant communication.

His strict rules mean every gap or delay has to be solved the hard way. Legal and political obstacles in places such as Russia, Central Asia and the Caucasus forced him to renegotiate permits, prove his intentions and sometimes sit still for months. Instead of abandoning the project, he repeatedly paused, raised funds, then returned to the exact point where he had last stopped walking.

Many accounts also highlight the role of strangers in keeping the expedition alive. Residents across the Americas, Russia, Central Asia and Europe have offered him meals, emergency medical help, equipment and a place to sleep. Bushby often says that his experience of the world is shaped less by landscapes and more by the kindness of people he met along the way.

In an age where most travel is fast and heavily documented online, Bushby’s low key, long form expedition feels different. There is no big team around him on the road and many years passed with little media attention. The scale of his commitment, and the patience required to keep going for nearly three decades, is why many observers describe his walk as a once in a generation feat of endurance.

If he reaches Hull on schedule in 2026, Karl Bushby will have completed a roughly 27 year, tens of thousands of miles long loop around the planet on his own feet. His Goliath Expedition will stand as a rare example of a modern journey powered almost entirely by persistence, simple equipment and the help of strangers. For many people watching his final approach, that is what makes him one of the most remarkable figures in contemporary adventure.

FYI (keeping you in the loop)-

Q1: Who is Karl Bushby and what is the Goliath Expedition?

Karl Bushby is a British ex paratrooper, author and walking adventurer from Hull, England. The Goliath Expedition is his attempt to walk an unbroken route around the world and return home on foot. He began the journey in 1998 from the southern tip of South America.

Q2: How far has Karl Bushby walked so far?

Reports from late 2025 indicate he has covered about 58,000km across 25 countries. He has walked across the Americas, Russia, parts of Asia, the Caucasus, Turkey and into Europe, with roughly 1,000 miles still to go.

Q3: When is Karl Bushby expected to finish his walk around the world?

Based on his current pace and recent interviews, he is aiming to finish the Goliath Expedition in 2026. Many outlets expect his homecoming in or around September 2026 if visas, funding and health allow.

Q4: Why is Karl Bushby considered special in the modern world?

His walk is unusually long, slow and demanding compared with typical travel today. He has kept to strict rules, crossed some of the hardest terrain and political borders on earth and continued despite long setbacks. The journey also highlights everyday kindness from people in many different countries.

Q5: What might Karl Bushby do after completing his journey?

In recent interviews he has spoken about wanting to focus on education and outreach after the walk. He is interested in sharing what he has learned about geography, science and global cultures with younger audiences. He has already written a book and may expand that work once he is finally home.