JOURNEY FROM THE CENTRE OF THE NATION

Beginning from the point in Britain furthest from the sea, Simon Warren sets himself a special test of endurance: the longest possible ride to the coast and back

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Church Flatts Farm is a mostly unremarkable place. Nestled among lines of shrubbery and expansive green fields, it lies just one mile south-east of the Derbyshire village of Coton in the Elms, on the edge of the Peak District. Its entrance is marked by a big metal gate, from which a crumbly track leads to its buildings. Sheep and cattle roam around. In almost every sense, then, Church Flatts is like any other farm - except in one unique detail. According to the Ordnance Survey, it lies at precisely the furthest point from the sea in the whole of the UK. When I heard Cycling Weekly was publishing an endurance-themed issue, Church Flatts Farm came immediately to mind.

My proposal: to ride from the UK's furthest point from the coast and back in a single day. From the farm - grid reference SK253144 - and travelling as the crow flies, you are equidistant from three points where land meets shore: White Sands on the Cheshire-Flintshire border, Westbury-on-Severn in Gloucestershire, and Fosdyke Wash in Lincolnshire. Whichever you choose, the distance from Church Flatts Farm, measured to the 'mean low water line', is 113km. Completing this adventure would take a round trip of at least 226km - further than the average Grand Tour stage. Had I bitten off more than I could chew?