PC:BBC
Karl Bushby left Chile in 1998 with a simple rule: walk home to Hull, and never use transport. Twenty-eight years and 30,516 miles later, he is now in Belgium with one stretch of water left. Eurotunnel refused him use of its service tunnel this summer on safety grounds, but French authorities have now permitted him to swim the 21-mile-wide English Channel, according to the BBC. The 57-year-old former paratrooper plans to enter the water on 1 October, weather and tides permitting, and expects the crossing to take three or four days. He aims to be back home in Hull by 1 November. Bushby began the expedition in 1998, setting out from Chile and travelling towards Hull under a self-imposed rule that prevents him from using transport. He had covered 30,516 miles (49,110km) by September 2026, with his route including the Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia and the Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama. The BBC reported on 5 September 2026 that Bushby says he has permission from French authorities to swim the English Channel. He said he expected to enter the water on 1 October, provided tides and weather conditions allowed it. In 2024 he swam about 186 miles (300km) across the Caspian Sea, according to the BBC. The Yorkshire Post reports the swim lasted 31 days and involved members of the Azerbaijani coastguard and two swimmers from the national team. Reportedly, he was aiming to reach Hull by 1 November, while the Yorkshire Post said he expected to arrive at his mother’s home in about two months.
Bushby said a French law dating from 1993 had presented an obstacle because it prohibited swimming from the French coast, according to The Yorkshire Post.
Eurotunnel said in June that closing its service tunnel, which runs alongside the main tunnel, would create a safety risk for passengers and interfere with essential maintenance work. Bushby described the arrangements needed to return to the UK as difficult, saying: “Organising how I’m going to get back into the UK has been a nightmare. ” Bushby had asked Eurotunnel for permission to use a service tunnel but was refused on safety and operational grounds. He then said his team had obtained support from within the French government for an alternative crossing. “It looks like we’ve managed to figure that out,” Bushby said, referring to the permission to swim from France. He said his team had eventually found support within the French government. The BBC reported that Bushby expected the Channel swim to take “three or four days”, with rest periods between swimming sessions on a support boat. With the French permission secured, Bushby said he was returning to Europe to continue from where he had stopped in Belgium. “It’s all about getting the job done and getting home alive,” Bushby told the BBC.
Bushby is a former paratrooper, and his journey has included crossing the frozen Bering Strait. He spent months waiting for suitable weather conditions while navigating shifting ice and avoiding polar bears. His route was subsequently affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leaving him unable to enter Russia or Iran and forcing him to find another way forward. Bushby had hoped to use the Channel Tunnel to avoid crossing the English Channel by water. His Los Angeles-based team had been in discussions with French authorities over the crossing. Bushby has previous experience of long-distance swimming. Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.
The Yorkshire Post notes the Channel is 21 miles wide and that strong tides and September water temperatures of 17–19C make the crossing demanding. Because he had been concentrating on planning the route, bushby told the BBC that he had not had time to train specifically for the latest challenge. The English Channel crossing will present a different set of conditions.