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British walker nears end of 28-year, 50,000km round-the-world trek

Karl Bushby is close to completing a transport-free journey home from South America, but faces uncertainty over permission to swim the English Channel.

Analysis deskEditor Andersson Iyke
3 outlets, 3 regions

What happened

Karl Bushby, a British adventurer and former paratrooper, has spent 28 years trekking 50,000 km in an attempt to walk home from South America without using any form of transport.123

Bushby, 57, is now on the final leg of his journey in northern France, near Cap Blanc-Nez, within sight of the English coast.2

He told AFP that he had believed he had permission to swim across the Channel from the French coast, but this turned out not to be the case due to what he described as internal confusion, leaving him scrambling to find a solution.2

He had originally hoped to use a service corridor to make the crossing.2

Key points

  • A British adventurer has trekked for 28 years, covering 50,000 km, in a bid to complete a round-the-world journey home without using transport.123
  • He is now approaching the final stage of the journey but faces one last obstacle before reaching home.123

What the coverage leaves out

  • None of the outlets reviewed reported how or when the Channel crossing permission issue might be resolved.
  • None of the outlets reviewed gave details on the starting point or full route of Bushby's 28-year journey.
  • None of the outlets reviewed included comment from French or British authorities on the swimming permission dispute.

Why it matters

Bushby's trek has been an attempt to travel from South America back to Britain entirely without motorized transport, with the Channel crossing representing the last barrier before completing the journey.12

What to watch

  • Whether Bushby receives permission to swim across the English Channel to complete his journey.

Sources (3)

Every outlet we drew on, grouped by where it is based. Read the originals for the full reporting.

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