British adventurer and former paratrooper Karl Bushby is in the final stages of a journey on foot that began 28 years ago. As reported by BBC News, the man, now 57 years old, is walking the final miles in the county of Lincolnshire to reach his hometown of Hull. His departure took place on November 1, 1998, from Punta Arenas, Chile, with the aim of returning home without using any means of transport.

During the long expedition, which spans roughly 36,000 miles across four continents, Bushby braved treacherous terrain such as the Darién Gap jungle and the frozen Bering Strait in 2006. In recent weeks, he swam across the English Channel before landing in Dover, subsequently pushing a sturdy handcart containing the supplies needed for his trek.

Bushby explained that around 15 of the total 28 years were spent actually walking on the ground. The rest of the time was dedicated to securing visas, dealing with bureaucratic and geopolitical obstacles, and waiting for the lifting of travel bans imposed during the pandemic. Among his intermediate stops, he often stayed in Mexico to keep living costs down.

Waiting for him at his destination will be his mother, his father, his siblings, his 36-year-old son Adam, and a 12-year-old granddaughter he has never met in person before. Bushby shared thoughts on his future readjustment to ordinary life, noting that the end of the expedition will entail a complex redefining of his identity after almost three decades spent on the road.