Karl Bushby completes Channel swim, final hurdle of 28-year Goliath Expedition
British adventurer Karl Bushby, 57, swam from France to Shakespeare Beach in Dover on October 5, marking his return to the UK after 28 years of continuous, self-powered global travel. He now walks 400km to his mother's home in Hull.
Karl Bushby has swum across the English Channel from France to England. The 57-year-old British adventurer made landfall at Shakespeare Beach, just south of Dover, at 15:30 BST on Monday, October 5, completing the final major hurdle of his decades-long Goliath Expedition. He overnighted on a support boat and restarted from his last position each morning, swimming in a wetsuit but not as a single continuous crossing.
Permission and procedural challenges
Despite believing in September that an exemption had been secured, Bushby and his team discovered the necessary permission to swim from the French coast was not finalised as he approached. Last-minute negotiations with French authorities were required before approval was granted. For many years, French rules have only tolerated cross-channel swims departing from the UK, not from France. Bushby has not released the details of the permissions secured, which were sought from both French and UK authorities. The exact timing of the swim was not publicised for safety reasons.
Journey context and progress
Bushby began the Goliath Expedition on November 1, 1998, leaving Punta Arenas in southern Chile. He expected the journey to take roughly 12 years, but it has stretched across nearly three decades. He has covered more than 30,000 miles (48,000 km) across 29 countries without using any transport, adhering to two self-imposed rules: not to use transport to advance and not to return home until the journey was complete.
His route included walking the length of South and Central America. In 2006, he and Dimitri Kieffer crossed the Bering Strait from Alaska to Siberia on foot, swimming where necessary. After years traversing Russia, he journeyed through Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan. He previously swam across the Caspian Sea from Uzbekistan to Azerbaijan, a feat that took 31 days. After crossing into Europe last year, he walked through Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Belgium, and France before arriving at the English Channel last month.
Arrival and next steps
Bushby was welcomed on the beach by a small gathering of friends and family, including his father, former SAS soldier Keith Bushby, and filmmaker Werner Herzog, who is directing a feature-length documentary titled Walk of Life about the journey. HM Coastguard liaised with French authorities and maritime partners to ensure safety protocols were met.
"It feels good to have UK soil under my feet after all these years," Bushby told reporters. He acknowledged the mental and physical toll, adding, "It hasn’t been easy, and that’s part of the point, proving I’m more capable than I give myself credit for."
He is now required to walk 400km from the south coast of England to his mother’s home in Hull, which he left in 1998 and has not returned to since. He is expected to reach Hull by early November.
