British man walking around the world nonstop since 1998 is about to finish and he's never used any mechanical transport

A British man who has been walking around the world nonstop since 1998 has never used any mechanical transport.

Karl Bushby is closing in on the end of one of the longest only human-powered journeys ever attempted.

He set off from Chile 27 years ago with a promise to walk home to the UK without taking a single ride.

Now he is just months away from completing the mission he started at age 29.

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Karl Bushby’s journey from Chile to the UK

Picture the scene, it’s 1998, David and Victoria Beckham have just got engaged, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets just hit bookshops, but most importantly, Karl Bushby set off on the most insane journey in the history of travel.

Bushby has covered roughly 30,000 miles since the late 90s, crossing deserts, jungles, mountains, war zones and frozen seas.

His only rules were simple: no mechanical transport of any kind and no going home to the UK until he walked there from Chile in 1998.

That promise he made took him through the Darién Gap, one of the most dangerous regions on Earth, where armed groups, cartels, and dense jungle took over the terrain.

His journey took him across the Bering Strait on foot, becoming the first British person to make the crossing from Alaska to Siberia.

It also forced him to do a 200-mile swim across the Caspian Sea when political barriers blocked land routes.

He was accompanied by members of the coastguard and rested on a support boat in between swimming sessions.

Every step has been taken with a backpack, a plan, and an unbreakable commitment to finish what he started.

He’s never used any mechanical transport in his 27-year journey

Bushby has faced extreme cold, searing heat, wildlife encounters and long stretches of total isolation.

Along the way, he also experienced the opposite: the kindness of strangers in remote villages who offered food, shelter, and support without asking for anything in return.

He says that human generosity has remained constant, even as the world changed around him and technology caught up with him, too.

He spent his early years off grid but now shares his final miles with more than 350,000 TikTok followers.

With about 2,000 miles to go, he expects to reach the UK next year, though he may have to swim part of the English Channel to stick to his rules.

After nearly three decades on the move, the British man says the biggest lesson is simple: take the first step, because it can change your entire life.

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