At Gibbon Bridge we have just hosted a truly international wedding for a family whose members are scattered across the globe.

It was the first time many of the relatives had seen each other in 14 years and – as with all our weddings – we were more than happy to go the extra mile to personalise the special day for them.

While most of our guests are UK based we do have ‘roaming regulars’ who visit each year from South Africa, America, Australia, Italy, Spain and France.

We always look forward to seeing our foreign friends and guiding them to the beauty spots of Bowland and beyond.

Foreign visitor figures are expected to rise this year according to official figures.

Last year our region saw 262,478 international visitors, reveal our friends at Marketing Lancashire.

And according to the latest figures from VisitBritain there has been strong growth from markets including the US, Germany and the United Arab Emirates.

The Office for National Statistics results show that from January to March this year visits from the US, the UK’s most valuable visitor market, grew by 9% to 542,000 compared to the same period last year.