Pensioners setting off on world tour in a Land Rover
Jun 7 2010 by Christina Savvas, Birmingham Mail
TWO pensioners are about to set off an a two year worldwide tour – in a Land Rover.
Globetrotters Norman and Barbara Seddon, who used to run a newsagents in Sutton Coldfield, are embarking on the trip of a lifetime to raise money for charity.
The couple, who have two daughters, four grandchildren and a great grandchild, always planned to do the trip but chose to raise cash for Huntington’s when Mrs Seddon, 67, was diagnosed with the disease.
Mr Seddon, 69, bought the Land Rover Defender 110, after selling the newsagent business off Beeches Walk.
He said: “My wife Barbara was diagnosed with Huntington’s three years ago. She gets very forgetful and she has involuntary movement. She is not too bad at the moment but it will get worse and there is no cure.
“We always wanted to do this trip for charity, due to Barbara’s diagnosis we decided to do it for Huntington’s.
“The trip will take a couple of years. A lot of friends and family are jealous, they keep asking if there is any spare room for them. A few people think we are mad. Our kids will miss the baby-sitting.”
He added: “We are paying for the trip ourselves. We are renting out our two properties and we don’t live outrageous lifestyles so we should be fine.
“We are really looking forward to it. By doing it in a Land Rover we will get to see so much, and not just the posh hotels and tourist parts.”
But the couple are not strangers to travelling. When they first retired they went travelling around South and Central America.
“We have always wanted to travel. When you retire it is the perfect time.”
This is the route the couple plan to take; UK, France, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Nepal, China, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, East Timor, Australia, USA, Canada, Alaska, Canada and back to the UK.
Mr and Mrs Seddon will set off on June 11. They hope the trip will raise £10,000 for the charity.
