A Burghclere Deliveroo rider has successfully completed his epic journey as he covered over 7,000km to visit every mainland lifeboat station in the UK.

Harry Lidgley wanted to raise £5,000 for the RNLI in order to give back to the charity which acted as support for him in a previous rowing odyssey. Following his visit to all 168 stations, he has smashed his target with over £6,000 raised, and is hoping for more.

Harry said: “I got everything out of the challenge that I had been hoping to: immense satisfaction at completing my circumnavigation, the chance to cycle through some spectacular regions around our coastline, and the opportunity to meet many RNLI crew members.

“Everyone I met was really enthusiastic about my challenge, which was always a great morale boost!”

Harry began his challenge in Poole on May 1, and returned there after completing his circumnavigation on June 3 after cycling for 34 days. This brought him in over a week ahead of his target of 42 days, with Harry describing his expedition as “a great success”.

During his journey, Harry climbed around 65,000m as he rode down to sea level and back up again to visit the RNLI stations, which is the equivalent of around seven or eight Mount Everests.

It wasn’t all plain sailing, however, with the Great British weather throwing everything it had at him. This included cold nights and hail showers in the south west, washouts in Wales, headwinds in Scotland and scorching heat as he approached the finishline.

“On days like these I just had to grit my teeth and do the best I could,” Harry said, “but these are the really valuable days that build your capacity to endure and your mental resilience. It’s all good training for future events!”

Though he may have raised over 120 per cent of his original fundraising goal, his donation page is still open for members of the public to give to the RNLI. If you would like to contribute, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gblifeboatcycle