Berkshire boy, 8, cycles the UK to raise money for hedgehogs

Harry Peksa and his dad Nick arrived at John O'Groats 35 days after they set off from Lands End

An eight-year-old boy has cycled across the UK to reach his goal of raising thousands of pounds to help his favourite animal, the hedgehog.

Harry Peksa, from Wokingham, rode 1,100 miles (1,770 km) with his dad, Nick, raising £11,400.

The pair started out at Land's End in Cornwall 35 days ago, arriving at John O'Groats in Scotland on Wednesday.

They even rescued one of the prickly mammals from the road in Lancaster, Lancashire, during their epic trip.

"It was on a walled road, so we just scooped it up and put it in a wood," Harry said.

His love of hedgehogs stemmed from an old cuddly toy called Hedgy and watching the creatures in his garden.

"I really love hedgehogs", he said.

The Berkshire schoolboy, who has previously cycled 100 miles (160km) to raise money for hedgehogs, had initially hoped to raise £5,000 for Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital in Buckinghamshire.

But that target was soon exceeded, mostly down to the "amazing generosity of people", Mr Peksa said.

"We were at a pub when the England football final was on and the landlord just pulled out a hat and people started putting money into it," the 45-year-old said.

The pair encountered all sorts of animals on their journey, including highland cattle

Harry said the hardest part of the journey was the mountain passes of Scotland, including one 17-mile uphill crossing of 1,515ft (462m).

But he said he had just one tyre change and said there was only one day of rain on the entire trip.

When they were not cycling up to 40 miles a day, Mr Peksa said they visited adventure parks, historical monuments and played in rivers.

After some time out to recover, Harry said he wanted to "do something harder next time, maybe the mountains in Wales... or cycle across America".

"I'm not sure my legs could handle that," Mr Peksa added.

Despite covering up to 40 miles a day, there was always time for a bit of humour along the way

Taking in the stalactites at Ingleborough Cave in Yorkshire