Grandparents who quit their jobs and sold their home to backpack around the world say they “can’t wait” to continue travelling after cancer temporarily halted their adventures.
Tina Waddle, 58, and her husband Kevin, 65, decided to quit their careers and follow their dreams when they realized that “the years they will leave behind are more than the years they have left in front of them.”
The couple sold their £218,000 three-bedroom home in Leeds, West Yorkshire, along with most of their belongings, bought a caravan and set off on a world tour.
His adventures included hitchhiking across the Argentine-Chilean border in Patagonia, climbing glaciers in Iceland, and traveling on camelback across the Sahara Desert.
All was well until Kevin was diagnosed with anal cancer in March this year, causing the couple to take a break from their travels.
But as soon as Kevin is well enough, they plan to hit the road again, with Tina planning trips to Armenia and Turkey.
Tina, a former NHS worker, and Kevin, a telecommunications worker, were living a “typical family life” with their son Scott, 36, and daughter Steph, 31.
But in 2016, Kevin realized something had to change after a friend of his left his job to live in Paris, France, but unfortunately suffered a heart attack and died before completing the move.
“He wanted to do more, wanted us to sell the house and make some money to buy a caravan and go traveling,” Tina explains.
“I wasn’t really sure; I’d never stayed in a caravan before, especially since I’d never considered traveling in one.
“But there was always the thought that if everything goes wrong, we can start over.”
The couple sold their home and most of their belongings in February 2017 and bought a six-metre caravan for £25,000.
“We felt like we were closing the door on one life and opening the door on another,” Tina says.
“It was such a great feeling.”
The couple first went on a European tour, visiting Spain, Italy and Croatia.
The pickup truck became their base, but was later left in storage or in friends’ garages as they began backpacking trips to more distant places like Mexico, Vietnam, and China.
They returned to the UK in February 2023 and decided to sell their caravan, but that wasn’t the end of their adventure.
Instead they spend nine months of the year travelling, returning to England throughout the year to visit family and friends, and looking after their homes and pets in the summer.
The pair were enjoying their adventure until January, when they were in Morocco and Kevin had some worrying symptoms.
The couple initially thought it could be piles but when medication failed to work, they realised they needed to return to the UK for a proper check-up.
Kevin was told he had anal cancer after tests by British doctors in March.
He needs a course of chemotherapy that will start at St James’s Hospital in Leeds in July and last five and a half weeks.
“Of course, my first thought was, ‘Where are we going to live while he’s having chemotherapy?'” Tina says.
“We had no home, the tumor was growing larger every day. Kev needed somewhere stable to rest and recover.
“Luckily, we know some really wonderful, supportive people and we have an agreement to house sit until September.
“After a while – when Kev feels good and healthy – we will go backpacking again.”
Kevin adds: “Imagine how I would feel now if we hadn’t taken action to see more of the world 10 years ago.
“I worked my whole life looking forward to retirement, and I was told ‘you have cancer.’
“My point is, don’t put your life on hold thinking, ‘I’ll do that later,’ and as the old cliché goes, ‘Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today,’ because tomorrow may never come.”
The duo is relieved they decided to take this step and can’t wait to get back on the road once Kevin is fully recovered.
“We can’t wait for her to ring the cancer bell,” Tina says.
“Cancer is treatable and curable, so we go backpacking again as soon as we are fit and ready to go.”
The rise of the silver backpacker
Gap years may conjure up memories of hedonistic full-moon parties and post-university student squatting in hostels, but it seems there’s a whole new tribe of wannabe travellers eager to see the world.
A new study has revealed that four in 10 people over the age of 60 are throwing caution to the wind and planning the trip of a lifetime.
Dubbed the “gray gap year” or adult gap year, these golden year travelers are opting to take to the golf courses to spend their retirement traveling the world.
While cash-strapped young people are starting to think twice about taking a gap year, silver adventurers are on the rise as 37% of the 60+ generation expect to find themselves on an extended holiday.
When asked about the reasons for the increase in the number of silver cruisers, almost one in five (19%) admit they are much more willing to ‘take the day off’ and travel than they were five years ago, wishing they had travelled more. Being younger has also contributed to a desire to set sail later in life, with 21% seriously regretting not taking a gap year in their teens or early twenties.
Commenting on the findings, Eamonn Ferrin, vice president of international business at Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), which commissioned the research, said: “While travelling the world has long been associated with the young and carefree, our research shows that the Boomer generation is travelling more than ever before.
“As gap year travel becomes a trend, we have seen an increase in all generations prioritizing travel, traveling more frequently to long-haul destinations. Whatever your age, travel has no limits.”
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Additional reporting SWNS.