CELEBRATIONS to mark the 70th anniversary of a family firm certainly won’t be forgotten in a hurry.

There was the traditional champagne reception — after the grandsons of the founder of George Cox and Sons cycled through seven countries in seven days.

Chris and Martyn Cox, who have taken over the business, embarked on the epic bike ride with colleagues through Europe to mark the milestone of the civil engineering firm. They finished underneath the statue of St George outside Basel Cathedral in Munsterplatz, Switzerland where finally they could open up the bubbly.

Martyn, who lives in Lostock, said it had been an amazing event.

He said “It was very hard and we are absolutely exhausted.

“But it was a really good group, great camaraderie and it was such a great feeling when we all got there.

“We brought the champagne.”

Although navigation was spot on for the majority of the time — the weather was not and the conditions proved a huge challenge.

Martyn said: “We had two awful days, with rain,.

“You could not see the road in front of you — but we still loved it. It was a great experience.”

The two brothers were accompanied on the trip by Mark Holroyd, Stephen Abbot and Paul Coombe.

They all had their favourite places along the route and Martyn’s was Holland.

The trip started at York Minister and then continued through the low countries of France and Germany and culminated in picturesque Switzerland.

The cycling team was joined for part of the trip by Francesca Cox, who is the great-granddaughter of founder George Cox.

Martyn, who is a local councillor, said that he would be making a donation to Fort Alice to mark the 70th year of the company’s trading.