YEAR OF THE COASTAL QUEST

Riding a lap of Britain is also a journey of self-discovery.

- Meg Elliot

If you were to stand in the middle of Derbyshire, you'd be the farthest you could get from the sea in the UK - about 100km or 62 miles.

In such places it's possible to forget you live on an island. But the sea surrounds us and, taking into account our 6,289 scattered islands, we have about 31,000km (19,300 miles) of coastline. Along that epic shore lie regions as diverse in culture as they are in land formations, ecologies and dialects. From the remote, weather-beaten north of Scotland to the azure seascapes of Cornwall, Britain is ringed by one of the longest, most varied coastlines in Europe.

This year, three cyclists set out to cycle the perimeter of Britain - a journey of more than 4,000 miles - all propelled by a different, personal mission. Chris Hall rode the island's rugged coastline, including some of the islands, to raise money for men's mental health, while Bernard Bunting tackled the ride for the National Brain Appeal. But we'll begin with the highest-profile coastline ride of the year - a new outright record.

This summer, Molly Weaver completed a full lap of the British coast in the fastest time ever recorded by a supported cyclist, 21 days 10 hours and 48 minutes. In doing so, she smashed Nick Sanders's 1984 record by 17 hours. “I can’t believe I’ve actually done it; I need to keep on reminding myself,” Weaver laughed in disbelief, speaking to me by phone a few days after finishing the ride.

Her journey began on London's Tower Bridge, its iconic blue steel framing her first push south, curling down towards Canterbury and along England's southernmost outposts. Weaver set off armed with a custom-built Orbea OMR carbon bike, and a five-strong rotating support crew that included her girlfriend, dad and brother. The only rules for Weaver's route - beyond smashing her predecessor's time - were to pass all 118 of Britain's coastal waypoints to cover a minimum distance of 7,730km (4,803 miles).