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Kevin ShoesmithEast Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
Karl BushbyA former British paratrooper has sketched out the final path on his 36,000-mile (58,000km) walk.
In November 1998, Karl Bushby set off from Chile in South America, expecting to reach his home city of Hull by 2012 – all without using any transport in order to advance.
Before Christmas he reached the town of Gyor in Hungary – a few days’ walk from the Austrian border – and he hopes to reunite with his mother, Angela, at the family home in October.
Speaking from Mexico, where he retreats every few months in order to satisfy visa requirements, Bushby said he would resume his walk close to the Hungary-Austria border in March, adding: “This thing needs wrapping up. But I have mixed feelings.”
He added: “It’s going to be a hard stop; the end of a life. There is also uncertainty about what happens next.”
Bushby, whose journey has been dogged by geopolitics, conflicts and difficulties obtaining visas, said restrictions meant he could only spend 90 days out of 180 in a country.
He said: “If I had it my way, I would keep going. But the rules mean that I have to visa bounce.”
After conquering South America, which involved dodging gangs in the jungles of the Darien Gap, which bridges Panama and Colombia, his route took him through Mexico.
In 2008, when a global financial crisis delayed plans to push through Siberia after crossing the Bering Strait two years earlier, he returned to Mexico and made it his temporary home.
“I lost a sponsor along with a potential sponsor in the financial crash,” Bushby recalled.
“Mexico seemed the ideal place to base myself as we tried to get things moving. I ended up staying there two years.
“The cost of living is cheap here, the people are awesome and all I need are T-shirts, shorts and flip flops. I also have a sponsor not too far away in the US. “
Kevin Shoesmith/BBCBushby said he was resting and making final preparations prior to returning to Hungary.
He said: “It won’t be long before I cross into Austria, then it’s Germany, Belgium, France and home.”
Over time, the daily distance walked has decreased.
“I’ve come down from 30km (19 miles) to 20/25km (12/16 miles),” he said.
Bushby said he hoped to begin talks shortly with the operators of the Channel Tunnel, with a view to securing permission to walk along a service tunnel back to the UK.
