The honeymoon couple who drove 1,000 miles to get a bed

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Wednesday Oct 14 2009

For many newly-weds, the bed is the focus of the honeymoon.

But for Lancashire couple Linda and Billy Clements, the super-king size divan they slept in made such an impression they travelled up to 1,000 miles to buy one just like it.

The pair were honeymooning in Northern Ireland during the summer when they stopped off at the Magheraboy Hotel in Portrush, where, says Linda, they spent their most comfortable night ever. On returning home to Darwen Linda decided to track down the makers of the divan and discovered it was made by Moyola Bed Company in Castledawson.

Determined to have one for her home, the couple — who divorced and remarried each other — hired a high-top transit van a few weeks ago and caught the Birkenhead to Belfast ferry.

They travelled to Sligo for a two night break, then on to Londonderry to buy some bed linen at Dunelm Mill. After forking out £300 there, they headed to Castledawson to pick up the divan. The next day they moved to Toomebridge for a night, then to Carrickfergus for another stop-off, before catching the ferry back to Birkenhead again.

In total, the newly-weds travelled around 280 miles by ferry, around 700 miles while in Ireland and a further 80 miles driving to and from Birkenhead.

Speaking from her home in Lancashire, she explained: “Billy and I were married before but we broke up and divorced for about seven or eight years.

“We got back together again and got married on July 4 this year, in a double wedding with our daughter and her boyfriend.

“We came over to Northern Ireland for our honeymoon and stayed in the Magheraboy Hotel in Portrush, where I must say, we had the best night’s sleep ever. The bed was so comfortable, I decided I had to have one. I took a photograph of the mattress and managed to track it down to the Moyola Bed Company in Castledawson.

“They said they normally only make them for businesses and hotels, but I think the nice people there must have liked the sound of my voice, because they agreed to sell us one.”

The couple finally got the Florida divan installed in their bedroom at the weekend — but not without one or two hitches.

“The bed was bigger than we first realised,” said Linda.

“It’s actually 6ft 6 by 6ft, a super king size, and it took five of us to get it into the bedroom.

“At one stage I thought we were going to have to break the window to get it in, but we managed it in the end. We travelled around 1,000 miles and spent approximately £1,500 for our bed, but it’s been well worth it.”

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