Why a trip to Hull and back took 28 years

In October 1998, Karl Bushby left his mum’s house in Humberside to fly to the southern tip of South America. The journey home would take him the best part of three decades to complete.

Karl travelled up through the Americas, across the Bering Strait into Russia, crossed the Caspian Sea and trekked the length of Europe before finally swimming the Channel and completing a 31,000-mile ‘modern odyssey’.

But there were two rules: no motorised transport – meaning he had to walk or swim the entire distance – and no changing the route. Living by those rules would end up costing Karl more than he could ever have imagined.

Niall Paterson speaks to the Daily Telegraph journalist Ed Cumming, who joined Karl on the final leg of his epic adventure.

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