Veteran walked across four continents and just swam the English Channel to return home

A British Army veteran has returned to his home country after a 28-year journey across four continents — but his trek isn't quite over.

Karl Bushby, a 57-year-old former paratrooper, reached England this week after swimming across the English Channel from France, marking the latest milestone in an around-the-world expedition that he embarked on in 1998.

Now, he has roughly 250 miles left to walk before reuniting with his mother, whom he hasn't seen in 11 years.

DIVERS BRAVE DEADLY 'MOUNT EVEREST OF SHIPWRECKS' AS FAMED WRECK BREAKS APART Bushby spent about 20 hours swimming in the English Channel over three days before reaching Shakespeare Beach near Dover on Oct.

5, according to the BBC.

"Getting in the water that first day, I thought, 'Have I taken too much of a bite here?'" Bushby told the outlet.

"But you dig deep.

Keep on keeping on.

You find a rhythm." Bushby hadn't even trained for the last leg of the trip and after about an hour in the water, he was cramping and doubting whether he could finish, he told the BBC.

CLIMBER STRANDED ON 6-INCH LEDGE AT 11,000 FEET AS 46 MPH WINDS GROUND RESCUE HELICOPTER But the Channel crossing was just the latest obstacle in an expedition spanning more than 30,000 miles and 29 countries.

Bushby set out from Chile on Nov.

1, 1998, and set two rules for himself: He would not use transportation including planes, trains, boats or cars to advance his expedition route and he would not return home to Hull until he had finished it.

His route took him the length of South America, through North America and across the Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia .

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER Along the way, he trekked through the Darién Gap between Panama and Colombia and, in 2006, crossed the frozen Bering Strait on foot and over ice with Dimitri Kieffer, a French-American adventurer.