Two’s Company Are Underway: Early Sunday Morning Clitheroe to Reflection in Manchester!

The bags are packed, the route is planned, and at 7:15 AM this morning, we officially left the comfort of home. A huge thank you to Aimee for the early start and the lift to Clitheroe to catch the first train of what we're calling 'leg 1' of the journey!

Right from the start, the adventure started with a frantic dose of transport drama. What was meant to be a simple train ride quickly turned into a bus replacement dash! We certainly had great fun sprinting to make it, but the relief was pleasant as we headed onward to Blackburn to connect with a train through to Manchester.

After the initial rush, sitting down with a much-needed drink at Costa on Manchester Victoria Station gave us a quiet moment to pause. The noise of the busy station faded as our thoughts turned to the terrible attack on the Jewish community that occurred here in Manchester only two days ago.

Reflecting on that attack, we found ourselves looking directly at the memorial to the awful terrorist atrocity that took place in Manchester on the 22nd of May 2017. The memorial clearly shows the extent of the damage to families and loss of life caused to so many for simply going to a concert.

It’s a heavy thought to carry into the start of a trip, a poignant reminder of the conflicts that persist in our world. When will the people learn to live together in peace?

With that serious reflection complete, we put our hopes for a peaceful world firmly in our minds and look onward as we have a sip at Manchester Airport, we are ready to board and fly off to foreign lands.

So leg 1 has begun, and we are officially on our way!