Land's End to John O'Groats is a famous route that attracts thousands of keen cyclists every year. The spotlight has been cast upon cycling recently with Bradley Wiggins' fantastic victory in the gruelling Tour de France and a gold medal at the Olympics. Travelling by two wheels has never been more popular.

Philip Symonds from Llandinabo near Ross with two friends, William Poole and Max Paddick, recently completed the 980 mile journey, starting in Land's End on Saturday and reaching the very north of Scotland on the following Thursday. The journey took six days in total cutting the suggested time of 12 days in half.

They passed through this area on Sunday stopping for a well-deserved break in Fownhope before heading to Shrewsbury for the night.

Although all are enthusiastic cyclists spending a lot of their free time in the saddle there was however another motivation for the trip; to raise money for the Lt. Dougie Dalzell MC Memorial Trust. Dougie was a friend of the boys who was sadly killed in Afghanistan on his 27th birthday in February 2010 and has been awarded the military cross.

The trust was set up to aid active and retired troops who have served their countries overseas and lending support to improve their quality of life whether it is at home or abroad. It provides help to soldiers who may have been wounded while on operations with the support they need when they return home.

Philip, Will and Max took it upon themselves to raise money for this charity which is very close to all of their hearts supporting the people who need it most.