Karl Bushby
British Karl Bushby, who initially predicted the journey would last 12 years, is close to finishing his journey 27 years later.
27 years ago, Karl Bushby He left Hull, in the United Kingdom, to walk 58,000 km around the world. In September 2026, the former paratrooper hopes to return to his hometown, where his mother, who he describes as his number one fan, will be waiting for him.
“I’ll be here”, says Angela Bushby, 75, as she looks around the environment that holds precious memories.
“I won’t be in the tunnel [sob o Canal da Mancha, entre a França e o Reino Unido]. I’ll be here, in Hull, waiting for him to walk through that gate and, after giving him a hug, I’ll say: ‘… And what time is it, Karl?‘”
Karl Bushby left Chile (South America) in November 1998, with the aim of walking home, without using any means of transport.
He believed the expedition would take 12 years. Geopolitics, wars and the difficulty of obtaining visas have slowed progress, but now, about to enter Austria, Karl is preparing to be reunited with his family.
Since 1998, Angela has seen her son just three times, including before he became the first Briton to cross the frozen Bering Straitbetween North America and Russia, in 2006.
Sitting in her armchair, Angela looks at the photographs of her son and says: “He It certainly kept me up at night a few timesI can assure you. It’s a miracle I don’t have all my hair gray!”
She adds: “He’s still my little boy. All mothers think this way, no matter what they look like or what they do.”
It was in this room that Karl presented Angela with his plan for the Goliath Expeditionwith the support of his father, Keith, a former soldier in the United Kingdom Special Air Service (SAS).
“My jaw dropped when Karl told me what he intended to do,” says Angela, retired from a snack factory and divorced from Karl’s father.
On the coffee table rests a stack of family photographs. And one image stands out: a boy with light hair prepares to climb a tree branch, while his brother holds him. The older boy seems completely focused.
“Karl was always stubborn“, says Angela. “When Karl sets his mind to something, he goes out there and does it.”
On the wall, there are photographs of Karl and his brother, Adrian, two years younger, which record their career in the Army.
Karl appears wearing the dark red beret and “wings” of the Parachute Regiment.
At first glance, it may seem that Karl moved easily from one adventure to another.
“He didn’t have an easy life“, says Angela, tapping lightly on the glass that protects the photo of her son’s military graduation ceremony.
Disclexia and bullying
Karl, then a physically fit but slight teenager, took several attempts to pass P Company, the pre-parachute selection and training unit of the Navy. British Army airborne force.
According to his mother, grit and determination, combined with the desire to honor himself and his family, helped him overcome difficulties.
The living room at home was also the place where Angela comforted her son when he was the target of bullying at the local public school.
“Karl was called dumb and stupid“, he states. “He was none of those things. He suffered a lot at school.”
Karl describes those years as “hell”.
“He was 13 years old when he was diagnosed with dyslexia“, says Angela, whose son agreed for her to share the details, in the hope that her story of overcoming will inspire other people.
“When he knew there was a reason for the difficulties, he took off. There was no holding him back any longer. He found ways to get around the condition and started to enjoy reading. He had to work very hard to get where he is.”
Angela keeps scrapbooks with newspaper reports that record Karl’s trajectory.
So far, he has walked through South, Central and North America, as well as parts of Asia, before entering Europe.
Em 2024, swam 300 km across the Caspian Sea (between Asia and Europe) to avoid having to re-enter Iran or Russia, where he faced difficulties obtaining visas.
You are about to leave Hungary and enter Austria.
“It was a sacrifice to get him back inside the house at night. I loved watching birds in the fields.”
Angela gestures toward the glass doors that lead out to the backyard.
“He always wanted to be out there,” he says.
The fields, the territory of Karl’s adventures, have long since disappeared, replaced by houses.
For Angela, the decades have brought a intense mix of pride and concern.
His memory goes back to April 2006, when the news arrived that Karl had reached Russia after 14 days of walking on unstable ice sheets, in temperatures reaching –30°C.
“There was relief that he had made it,” says Angela. “Just before leaving Alaska [EUA]he asked to see his family, in case something happened to him. We all went there. He knew there was a very high risk of not being able to.”
“I was at work when someone told me they had heard on the radio that Karl had been arrested for entering Russia illegally. My heart almost stopped.”
Angela also recalls an occasion when Karl tried a drink that was offered to him in South America.
“He said that the trees started moving towards him and that the sky didn’t look the same as before, apparently”, reports Angela. “When he told me, I was furious that I had tasted that.”
Angela clearly misses her son terribly.
“At the beginning of the walk, I received phone calls from time to time“, he says. “Nowadays, we usually talk via Messenger.”
Angela saved gifts for Karl over the years.
“I continued to buy him a Christmas present every year,” he says. “He’s going to have several to open. When I told him, he said, ‘Mom, you must be crazy.'”
But it helps Angela.
She admits she worries about her shape How will Karl readapt to life in society when you return home.
“I don’t know what he’s going to do“, he says, with a thoughtful look. “I hope he ends up staying here.”
Angela is lost in her thoughts.
“But I don’t think that’s going to happen. I don’t think he’ll be able to stay in one place after traveling for so long.”
Later, over the phone, Karl tells the BBC his reaction to his mother’s comment: “What time is it?”
“This is the moment of truth“, he responds.
