How British man who has spent 25 years walking across the world using no transportation plans to cross Channel from France
Karl Bushby is probably the fittest man on Earth since he’s been walking around the globe ‘with unbroken footsteps’ since November 1998.
The 55-year-old man, who’s originally from Hull, began his journey from Punta Arenas in Chile and has been on his 'Goliath Expedition' ever since.
While he is a little late, considering the 36,000-plus mile trip was supposed to take him 12 years to complete and he’s doubled that expectation, there's been a lot of challenges he's to overcome along the way.
For example, Karl has faced three major 'gaps' between countries which required thorough planning.
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The first gap was the Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama, the second was the Bering Strait between the US and Russia, and the third gap is the Channel Tunnel between France and the UK.
Because of the rules of his mission, it means Karl can’t use any form of transport and he has to return home on foot.
Having been arrested in Panama for crossing a closed border zone, it’s not unusual for Karl to find himself in hot water.
After successfully completing the first two gaps, even hotter water could come in the form of his 25-year journey going to waste if he can’t cross the English Channel.
While the Brit could swim, it’s not likely he’d be able to in this cold and changing weather.
That leaves him with only one choice: to use the Channel Tunnel and avoid the trains which operate 24/7.
Between the usual rail operations sections, there is a small additional tunnel which was built for maintenance workers.
According to Getlink Group, this service tunnel is 4.8m in diameter and ‘lies between the two rail tunnels 15m away from each of them’.
The tunnel is be a great option for Karl, as it’s used to allow access to maintenance and emergency rescue teams if the case of needing to evacuate passengers.
However, the only issue is he needs to make sure he gets the correct authorisation in order to be able to walk through it as foot passengers are usually forbidden.
As per Armchair Adventure Festival, Karl said: "Would they say no after decades of effort and only 21 miles from home?"
If everything goes smoothly then the ex-paratrooper will be home in no time and finally able to let his poor feet rest.
Then again, it took Karl 11 years to conquer half of Russia due to numerous visa issues and being banned from re-entering for five years, so who knows what’s in store for him now.
You can find the latest updates on Karl's Goliath Expedition here.
Topics: Travel, UK News, World News
Britt Jones