We spent today catching up with Andy’s family in Bolton who we’d last seen in early December 2023.

Our stay was at Andy’s parents house where they’ve lived for over 50 years. Two doors down is his youngest brother Ian and wife Justine and their four kids. It was great to see them all and catch up with their news and what they’d been up to over the last 15months or so.

We appear to have brought back some of the Australian sunshine as it was unseasonal warm at 20 degrees with bright clear skies. We took full advantage and went for a walk around the fields in Over Hulton before treating ourselves to coffee and cakes at a local cafe.

We reacquainted with Andy’s parents who we’d last seen back in mid-December in Blenheim, New Zealand when they’d toured part of the southern hemisphere.

The ladies in white – our extended family from right to left, Susan, Andy’s cousin; her mum Margaret who’s just about to celebrate her 90th birthday and his mum, Marian who’s as busy as ever at the spritely age of 82!

In the evening Andy snook off with his youngest brother Ian to the nearby pub where they hatched plans for future cycling trips around the UK and Europe!

Tomorrow will return ‘home’ to Oxford, where our travelling adventure all started on 14 December 2023.