Friends cycle from London to Istanbul for charity

James Redwood, Kieron Lawton, Will Rowlands, Jude Metz and Ewan Davies have completed three charity challenges since 2023

A group of five friends have completed their latest charity challenge of cycling through 10 countries, taking them from London to Istanbul.

James Redwood, Kieron Lawton, Will Rowlands and Jude Metz from Nantwich and Ewan Davies from Cornwall — all 22 — started their ride in August in memory of lost loved ones.

They have been taking on challenges together since 2023, when they hiked across Luxembourg, the following year trekking across Croatia.

During their England to Turkey journey, they encountered powerful winds and being chased by wild dogs, with Mr Rowlands saying: "The further east we got, the wilder it got".

"The dogs in Serbia weren't great, the dogs in Bulgaria were probably worse. Turkey was bad as well," he told BBC Radio Stoke.

They had already faced issues two days into the trip, when their support van was towed away in Belgium after it was left in front of a garage while they went to lunch.

They also faced struggles crossing the Turkish border and endured high temperatures and strong winds while cycling into the night up mountainous roads.

They camped to keep costs low but were forced at times by the severe weather to stay indoors, they said.

The group cycled more than 3,000km to raise money for charity

The group rated the longest day of the journey, however, as their favourite.

"We did 195km (121 miles) and it was to go from Hungary into Serbia in one day," said Mr Redwood.

"We passed through so much scenery, so many dogs, so many awesome little towns, many hills."

He said the warm welcome they received at the Serbian border made the day stand out.

They completed the cycle ride in 26 days, clocking up a total of 3,184km (1,978 miles), and finishing at the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.

They have so far raised £4,700 towards their target of £5,000, which will be split between Macmillan Cancer Support and Alzheimer's UK.

Talks about a fourth trip were now underway, they said, but details had not yet been settled.