TWO Wiltshire teenagers have smashed their challenge of cycling 880 miles from Land’s End to John O’ Groats.

Seventeen-year-olds Dan Wood, of Steeple Ashton, and Jonty Smith, of Chirton, Devizes, completed the marathon ride in only six days, compared to the average time of 9-14 days.

This equates to cycling around 150 miles per day, waking up at 5am and finishing cycling at around 8pm.

The pair spent nearly 52 hours in the saddle and climbed 36,463 feet, 7,434ft more than the height of Everest, in the hottest week of the year so far.

Dan and Jonty are both A-level pupils at Dauntsey’s School, and Mr Wood only started cycling in January after buying a bike.

They arrived in John O’ Groats on July 24 at 5.12 pm after leaving Land’s End at 6.32am on July 19.

Dan said: “We decided to take up this iconic long distance cycle challenge during lockdown in January.

“I knew how to ride a bike but I had not cycled before, therefore it was a huge learning curve.

"We both spent many hours in the first half of this year cycling around Wiltshire and the surrounding counties on back-to-back 150-mile training rides.

“This was essential to ensure that we would be able to endure consecutive days of 150 miles per day, which was the requirement to complete LEJOG in six days.”

Their route took them from Land’s End to the first stop at Taunton 162 miles later, over 93,00ft of climbs through the hills of Cornwall and Devon.

“We knew this would be the hardest day of LEJOG, but the 32 degrees Centigrade heat made this day exceptionally tough,” Mr Wood said.

"It was very tiring. I found it more of a mental challenge than a physical one, as at times it can be boring and it's hard to keep focused and motivated."

Day two involved crossing the Severn bridge and into the beautiful Wye valley to Shrewsbury for their second stop. On Day three they travelled to Shap in the Lake District, powering up the hills, and speeding down the descents.

Day four crossed the border into Scotland, which was a big milestone for them and gave them enormous confidence for the rest of the ride.

After crossing the border into Scotland, they rode through Glasgow and stopped at Balloch for the night.

Jonty added: “Scotland however provided some awful roads which was mentally tough, and we had to be resilient to overcome this.”

Day five contained some of the most beautiful scenery in the UK as they travelled alongside Loch Lomond and then up through the Cairngorms and Glencoe before cycling past lochs towards Inverness.

“The last day from Inverness to John O’ Groats felt like a celebration ride, even over the eight per cent gradient back-to-back hills along the east coast of Scotland before arriving at John O’ Groats after six days,” Mr Wood added.

The pair held pit stops every 50 miles to refuel with their support crews providing drinks, meals and snacks to keep them going. They were supported by Dan’s parents, Richard and Clare Wood, and Jonty’s father, Matt Smith.

The team were wholly unprepared for how many calories the pair would actually scoff as they burnt upwards of 5,500 calories a day.

Clare Wood said: “These boys have been awesome and have certainly earned the right to say that they have cycled the country and become ‘End to Enders’.

“It was tough, an adventure, hard work and exhilarating and one of the most rewarding things they have ever done. They were constantly beaming with limitless ambition and positivity.”

Mr Smith added: "It was an incredible experience and very worthwhile. We were ecstatic when we finally reached John O' Groats."

He planned the challenge earlier this year as part of an Extended Project Qualification at Dauntsey's School.

"You can do anything want, as long as you research, plan and carry it out," he said. "We set ourselves the challenge to complete the trip in six days.

"The first day was definitely the hardest and the heat made us really tired, but the views on the last two days just kept us going."

So far, Dan and Jonty have raised more than £4,500 to split between Prostate Cancer UK, Qhubeka and Map Action.

To donate go to www.JustGiving.com/crowdfunding/dan-wood-lejog

or www.givengain.com/ap/jonty-smith-raising-funds-for-qhubeka-uk/