GALLERY: Boston gets behind England at home and away, including Berlin (after a 15-hour drive)

For one group of family members from Boston – plus two friends from Spalding – it was at a fan zone in the German capital itself… following a 15-hour drive through the night.

At the start of Euro 2024, Boston’s Chris and Amy Grogan made a casual pledge to two of their brood, that if England reached the final, they would take them to Berlin for the occasion.

The comment was made to those most interested in football, but also older enough for the trip – Finn, 19, and Freya, 15.

This casual pledge became outright formal, though, when England scored a last-minute winner in the semi-finals.

“It is one of those things – you can’t break a promise,” said Amy.

“The kids were just chanting songs, saying they were going to Berlin,” said Amy. “We thought we have got to do this.”

With a lack of hotel options in Berlin, a 15-hour road trip began on Saturday. Finn and Freya, step-dad Chris, 39, and two of Chris’s friends from Spalding, arrived on Sunday morning and became first in the queue in the fan zone. The car would later fill in as a hotel. The adventure would also include the party being interviewed on BBC Breakfast.

While the match ended in defeat, the experience was definitely a winner, with Amy saying: “They were absolutely gutted, but, equally, they said it has been a fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Here are a few photographs from the trip, plus others that readers kindly shared with us.