Brit Set For Hero's Welcome After Epic 28-Year Walk Around The World

A homecoming celebration is planned in Hull, north east England, for a walker who has spent 28 years covering 30,000 miles on foot; then swimming the English Channel to get back on his home turf.

Bushby as a young man at the start of his journey

Karl Bushby, now 57, set off from the southern end of Chile in 1998, when he was 28, vowing to walk all the way home without using any form of motorised transport. As you might imagine, his journey brought years of dangerous escapades, including crossing the notorious Darien Gap in Central America, while he also traversed the Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia on the frozen sea. After what can only be described as an extraordinary adventure, Bushby is expected to make his final stop at Queen Victoria Square, in the centre of Hull, on Monday 2 November, before returning to his mother's house.

The Independent reports that the local Lord Mayor is encouraging residents and visitors to come out and welcome him home. “So many people have followed Karl on his epic journey. We have all felt inspired by his spirit, tenacity and dogged determination to carry on in challenges faced by the most fearless of explorers. We all share pride in his incredible achievement. We also know what it’s like to come home to Hull, that feeling as your car or train, or feet in Karl’s case, crosses or goes under the Humber Bridge and over the city boundary. As the world’s media and documentary crews gather in our city we can show them how proud we are of Karl’s achievement and how proud we are to be from Hull.”

Bushby on the beach after swimming the English Channel from France

Following his arrival on a beach on the south coast a couple of weeks ago, Bushby told ITV News: "It feels good to have UK soil under my feet after all these years. 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.” Now the world is looking forward to seeing him reunited with his mother on Monday.

Karl Bushby talked to Sky News in late September as he neared the end of his mammoth journey.