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Leeds grandparents quit jobs and sold home to backpack around the world

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Leeds grandparents quit jobs and sold home to backpack around the world

Backpacking grandparents who quit their jobs and sold their house to travel the world “can’t wait to get back out there” after cancer brought their adventures to a halt.

Tina Waddle, 58, and her husband, Kevin, 65, from Leeds packed in their careers when they realised they had “more years of their lives behind them than what was left in front”.




The couple sold their £218k three-bedroom house, and most of their belongings, bought a motorhome, and embarked on a journey around the world.

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The couples travels came to an abrupt halt in March this year, when Kevin was diagnosed with cancer(Image: Tina Waddle / SWNS)

Their adventures included hitchhiking along the Argentina-Chile border in Patagonia, scaling glaciers in Iceland, and riding camels across the Sahara desert.

The pair sold their motorhome in 2023 after realising they spent most of their time backpacking, living in hostels or house-sitting for friends and family in the UK.

All was well until Kevin was diagnosed with anal cancer in March this year – bringing the couple’s global adventures to an immediate halt. But as soon as Kevin is well enough, they plan to get back out on the road again and Tina has her sights set on Armenia and Turkey for their next trips.

Tina, a former NHS worker, said: “We were in Morocco in January when Kev told me he had some worrying symptoms – he thought it was piles, but I bought him some anti-fungal medication from a local pharmacy which had no effect.

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