TWO retired teachers cycled the length of the country to raise money for charity -- and gave their former pupils a lesson in geography at the same time.

Former Great Harwood County primary school headteacher, Chris Ryan, covered the 950 miles from Land's End to John O'Groats with his former school colleague Wendy Leach.

And the roving pair kept in touch with the school, in Rushton Street, by using their mobile phones to file daily reports of the places they visited and the people they met. Teachers recorded the reports and relayed them to the pupils.

Mr Ryan, 60, of Edge End Cottages, Great Harwood, put his retiring present of a bike to good use on the 17-day trip and has raised at least £700 for Amnesty International.

Mrs Leach, who has recently moved to Whalley from Great Harwood, is raising money for the Joe Horman Trust, which promotes self sufficiency in an Indian village.

Deputy headteacher of the school, Barbara Wilkinson, said: "It was great for the children because it was a useful learning experience for them as well as a good fundraiser.

"We have also contributed £245 to the two causes by raffling a teddy bear, and the children bought maps of the journey as well. The infants followed the adventures of Barnaby Bear, which Chris took with him. Barnaby is used by the National Curriculum to teach geography.

"The juniors also tracked the journey on a big map of the country.

"They all learned about loads of things, including bridges, scenery, rock formations and even a little bit of history when the pair described their visit to Hereford Cathedral where they saw one of the country's earliest maps called the Map of Mundi. "

Mr Ryan said: "We enjoyed ourselves immensely and I'm glad we didn't hit any bad weather until the last day.

"I trained for a month for this because I haven't ridden a bike since I was a child.

"It was very hard work and Devon and Cornwall were very hilly. I ached every day.

"One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to the lost gardens of Heligen in Cornwall and we explained to the children about all the things that grow there.

"I can also confirm the best real ale is definitely in England and not Scotland."