Robert Manton and Michael Turner, who are both 20, came upon the idea to cycle the 874 miles in a somewhat unexpected setting.

"The original idea of cycling from Land's End to John O'Groats developed from the place all good ideas come from – the pub," Robert said.

Having set themselves the challenge, the pair decided to raise some money at the same time, and as Robert's mum, Margaret, has suffered from breast cancer, Cancer Research UK was a cause close to their hearts.

Robert, from Dogsthorpe, who is studying medicine at Imperial College, London, and Michael, from Rutland, who is reading law at Nottingham University, have a long history of biking together.

"Michael and I have been cycling together ever since we were at school and we always used to cycle around the local area," Robert said.

"It was a two-man team thing, and we thought we would do something bigger than we would usually do, and that's pretty much the ultimate cycling trip you can do in the UK," Robert said.

The pair put in two months' training for the ride, as they needed to build up the distance they could cover in a day.

Then, on Monday, July 28, they set out. The amount they rode each day depended on where they were in the country – in Cornwall and Devon they faced more hills and in Scotland they battled against strong headwinds.

On the last day, Tuesday, August 5, they rode for 12 hours as they struggled against 20mph winds.

Despite this hard finish, Robert said it was the start of the journey the pair found most difficult.

"The first couple of days we found were the hardest, purely because of the hills," Robert said. "I don't think either of us had been to Devon or Cornwall before. The weather was terrible, we got rained on pretty much constantly for the whole two days and the hills made it difficult."

Last week Robert and Michael paid a visit to the Thomas Deacon Academy, to speak about their experience.

They are both former pupils of Deacon's School.

"The staff and the kids have been great, they sponsored us a lot of money," Robert said.

So far, they estimate they have raised between £850 and £900, but the money is still coming in.

They may be temporarily out of the saddle, but Robert and Michael are already planning another adventure.

"People keep asking us what is next, and Michael and I are considering doing some cycling in Europe. We haven't decided where yet, but we're thinking it could be next year," Robert said.

There is still time to sponsor Robert and Michael, visit www.justgiving.com/robertmanton1