Mr Dunlop said: “I was a bit nervous beforehand – worried if I was fit enough and if the self navigating would go OK.

“Now, I’ve got going it feels brilliant and I’m loving some of the hills. They don’t seem as bad as they looked on the route planner.”

He added: “The hardest bit so far is eating enough food, as I need 4,000-plus calories a day.

“My mother is driving the back up van and we try and meet every 20 miles for snacks and water.”

His mother, Christina Dunlop, said she was supportive of his gap year plans but encouraged him to do something for charity.

“Little did we know he’d come up with an event that would involve serious logistical plotting and planning and a fitness regime,” she said.

“The ironic thing is that Tom has dyspraxia and couldn’t ride a bike until he was 11 years old.

“I’m so very proud of what he is aiming to achieve.”