Karl Bushby returned to the UK after travelling 50,000 kilometres across four continents. His 28-year journey overcame dangerous crossings, visa disputes and pandemic delays.A British man completed a 28-year-long world trek and returned home.

After 28 years, 50,000 kilometres and four continents crossed without relying on motorised transport, British adventurer Karl Bushby finally made it home. The 57-year-old walked across vast stretches of the Americas, Russia, Central Asia and Europe before returning to his hometown of Hull in England on Monday, where a crowd of around 500 people gathered to welcome him.

What began as an ambitious 12-year adventure in 1998 had turned into a nearly three-decade test of endurance, patience and sheer determination.Bushby had set himself two rules before setting off: he would not use any form of motorised transport to cover the distance, and he would not return home until he had completed the journey. At 29, the former British paratrooper left Chile in 1998, embarking on an expedition that would take him across some of the world's most challenging terrain.

One of the most perilous stretches came in 2006, when he crossed the frozen Bering Strait from Alaska to Russia alongside French explorer Dimitri Kieffer. The crossing nearly cost him his life.

He also faced visa troubles, spent time in a Panamanian jail for entering the country without a visa and had to put his expedition on hold several times. Karl Bushby returned home after 28 years.

A refusal of a Russian visa proved particularly disruptive, stretching a journey originally expected to take 12 years to more than twice that. As per a Reuters report, the Covid-19 pandemic brought further delays, forcing him to spend time at a base in Mexico.But Bushby refused to let the interruptions become the end of his adventure.

Each time he resumed the journey, he returned to the exact spot where he had stopped, determined to honour the rules he had set for himself.Even after reaching Europe, the final stretch was far from ordinary. Having returned to Britain from mainland Europe last month, Bushby swam the English Channel from northern France to Dover over four days before continuing towards Hull, reported Reuters.His homecoming was particularly emotional.

The final leg of the journey took him to north Hull, where he was set to reunite with his mother, Angela, his 36-year-old son, Adam, and a 12-year-old granddaughter he had never met.Addressing the cheering crowd, Bushby acknowledged that the feat had not been achieved alone. After nearly three decades of walking, crossing borders and overcoming setbacks, Bushby had finally completed the journey that began when he was 29.- Ends