Peak District teenager David Cook was back at his Baslow home this week savouring the delights of his mum’s cooking and the luxury of his own bed after a five-month, 10,000-mile gruelling charity cycle-ride through most of Europe.

And as he relaxed with family and friends, the 19-year-old former Lady Manners School student admitted: "It's great to be home. It feels weird after living by the roadside for so long. My cooking on tour almost finished us off and living in a tent by the side of the road all those months has certainly taken away the novelty of camping but I've learned a lot about myself, other people and their cultures, the value of a supportive family - and the benefits of being English."

David made the outward leg of the marathon ride, from Calais to Athens, with Matthew Gibson (18), of Hathersage, a former student at Hope Valley College and Lady Manners School sixth-former.

On the return leg, from Turkey to Paris, he was joined by 20-year-old Luke Johnson who studied at Saint Mary’s School in Chesterfield and is now an undergraduate at Imperial College, London.

The ride home proved to be a memorable experience.

In Turkey, temperatures of 50 degrees and above melted the roads and regularly caused punctures, To complicate matters, the heat prevented the glue on the rubber repair patches from setting and the ten litres of water the lads drank each day made cycling difficult by forcing their wheels further into the tar.

Those problems, however, paled into insignificance compared to the challenges posed by itinerant travellers in Romania and Bulgaria who permanently cast covetous eyes on their bicycles and equipment.

“We had experienced problems on the outward leg and it came as no surprise to be chased by travellers in their horses and carts and on mopeds converted to carry up to six people. We could not avoid them and learned to be very vigilant when they were nearby,” said David.

But there are memories, too, of the many kindnesses shown to them by people who often had little to offer, like the Turkish barber who gave them a free haircut and tea, and of encounters with bemused local law-enforcement officers which often ended with the police shaking their heads and saying “Typical…English”.

The trio made the ride to raise much-needed cash for the Kankudibi health clinic in The Gambia, a charity headed by Stanton Lees residents Geoffrey and Julie Henson, the road safety charity BRAKE, and the British paralympics team.

David now plans to undertake a series of local speaking engagements to boost the amount of money they can donate to the three deserving causes. He can be contacted on 0791 4858098.

The photograph shows David (left) and Luke at Edirne,Turkey, in front of the Selimiye mosque which boasts some of the largest minarets in the world.