A former HGV driver who had not taken a sick day in eight years has ditched the UK with his family to interrail Europe, funding the adventure by working just 10 hours a week selling solar panels on eBay. Lee Bodell, 47, and his partner Aimee Bedford, 39, sold their house and all their belongings in July 2026 and flew to Paris in September with their daughters Matilda-May, 10, and Mila, nine.
The family have since visited seven countries in three weeks, spending £1,800 on 60-day continuous first-class train tickets. By November, when the tickets expire, they plan to visit as many European countries as possible before heading to Thailand for Christmas and New Year.
From workaholic to world traveller
Lee, from Birkenhead, Merseyside, said the pandemic changed his mindset. "What first triggered it off was during Covid, I was placed on furlough and was off work for 10 weeks. I was always a workaholic and never missed a day off work in eight years being sick and I was constantly doing overtime," he said.
"Spending 10 weeks at home with the family completely changed my mind set on life and I thought 'I want to do this full-time'. I started thinking about ideas and online businesses and stuff like that."
Lee now runs an online business buying and selling on eBay and Amazon, plus his own Shopify store, earning between £500 and £1,000 a week. The family estimate they have spent around £6,000 so far, including the Interrail tickets. Once they fly to Southeast Asia, they plan to budget around £1,500 per month.
Testing the waters abroad
In May 2025, the couple hired a villa in Cyprus for 10 days to see if running Lee's business abroad was possible. On their return, they put their four-bed home up for sale, which sold in July 2026 for £330,000, leaving them with £140,000 in equity.
Aimee, who previously worked as a family support worker at a primary school, said: "We set a couple of grand aside from the house sale and Lee's wages top that up, with some savings as well. The money that was made from selling our belongings and cars has gone towards the trip."
"We've invested the rest of the house money and hope to earn off that as well. We were spending with a mortgage, bills, days out, running the house and cars with four children around £3,000 to £4,000 a month."
Living life, not just existing
The family have since visited the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy. Aimee said: "We'd reached the point where we really felt like we just existing rather than living. We had jobs and the kids were attending school all day long and we were lucky if we had two hours with them at the end of the day. We wanted more time to experience life together. We came away with three suitcases."
The daughters have been de-registered from school and are settling into life on the move. Aimee said: "I think we're deliberately choosing to give them these experiences, and I think we want them to learn through travel rather than just recreating school at the kitchen table if you like."
"They do enjoy learning but we're not shoving it in their faces as it's very early days. I think personally I'd be ok with them not attending school for at least two years. But that can change and we're led by them. If they want to learn more and there are other subjects they are interested in, we will make it happen, but that will be online."
Budgeting for experiences
The family stay outside tourist hotspots and city centres to keep costs low. Aimee said: "We've been staying at a Eurocamp in Italy and have been shopping at Lidl. We're very clear about it not being a holiday as well. We do have to make decisions about money like not eating out every night."
"It's about being mindful and the things we want to splurge on are experiences. Travelling on a gondola in Venice cost a fortune but we'll eat in for two days because of that. We're living life and taking the hit."
The couple's eldest children Billy, 18, and Lyla, 17, stayed at home with family but flew out with Aimee's sister Katie, 37, to celebrate Aimee's 39th birthday in Italy. The family hope to eventually settle outside the UK, though they are not sure where. "We'll see where life takes us," Aimee said. "The beauty of being able to travel is we might find somewhere and it might be our forever home."
Sharing their decision online, they want to inspire other families to make the leap. They can be followed on TikTok @the.bodells and Instagram @the_bodells.
