It’s almost midnight and all but myself are asleep in the campervan. The lightning has been flashing for about an hour and the thunder is just about starting. Dan went to sleep watching the flashes from the top of the campervan and it was, and still is, wow!

The thunderstorms were forecast for the day but considering it was supposed to be later in the day, we got ourselves ready for a bike ride, no route planned – just see what happens. It was very hot and muggy but when you’re riding, the breeze is beautifully cooling. Having run a nice 5km yesterday, I knew a good place to start and whilst winding through the trees and not entirely even, it was great fun.

Onto the white route around Delamere, we completed a relaxed 12km in total with very little in the way of slopes and all surfaces wide and mostly level. For anybody that hasn’t visited Delamere, I highly recommend it for both cycling and on foot. The most difficult part of the ride was remembering that releasing your left foot from the pedal (I have cycling shoes) means you put your left foot down, not right! Splat!

Back at the van we had a bit of a break before heading off for a short walk, back into Delamere Forest. Dan enjoyed a bit of time on the tree swing and then we headed around the lack, seeing wherever the route took us. I’m so very pleased that this kind of activity is enjoyed by us all; being out and about in the great outdoors and in no way needing to be indoors with electronic devices of any kind.

A few kilometres were added to the daily amount before getting back to the van. The way children make friends is great, albeit social distancing is not quite evident. This is something however I have always said is not possible, in caring places. Dab developed the forest bike trail (it’s pretty good). He then took a dog for a walk and raced around the site on his bike with two other lads. Add to that the trip into the woods to the tree swing. The life of a lad!

So the evening arrived and another great day. The lightening started and was mesmerising, although it is not the greatest I’ve seen. It is now starting to thunder and there are some pretty big flashes. I hope all get a great sleep and are safe, flood free and still have power in the morning.