Grey gap year: the over-60s with a taste for travel on a budget

Boomers are eschewing the traditional cruise holiday in favour of exploring the world with a backpack or in a camper van

David and Viv Boardman have just arrived in Germany after a long bus-ride between Lille and Dusseldorf. They’re in the middle of a five-month stint backpacking around Europe, America and Australia, deciding where to go a week in advance, and they’ll return home when their money runs out. They haven’t recently finished school or university – they’re both 66 and on a “grey gap year”.

The pair are spending several months exploring the world for the first time in their lives after growing up in a time when extended travel was not the norm. Retirement has given them newfound freedom, and they want to enjoy it.