IT was a frosty start for an ambitious Cumbria couple when they set off on their biggest challenge to date - cycling to the Great Wall of China.

Peter and Chris Lloyd, who live near Brampton, waved goodbye to friends, family and well-wishers who had gathered at Birdoswald on Saturday to see them off on their latest adventure.

A dozen cycling friends set off with them on their first leg of their journey to Newcastle, where they caught the ferry to Holland.

From there the husband and wife duo, both in their sixties, will visit more than a dozen countries on their year-long trip.

It will see them cover about 40 miles a day and between 8,000 and 10,000 miles in total before they reach China's iconic landmark.

They got the bug for bicycle touring when they cycled home from Greece but admit this trip - Wall to Wall - is in a different league.

On the first post of their blog the couple said: "We have dreamed of doing this trip for a long time and last year did a 'practice route' when we cycled from Greece.

"We had a thoroughly wonderful time and decided that we were hooked on the freedom and excitement of bicycle touring.

"We have great bikes and despite a few aches and pains our legs are fairly strong, our combined brains are still able to read a map if it isn’t upside down, and so we feel almost qualified to get going."

They continued: "We want to do this so we can extend a hand of friendship to those we meet along the way.

"The world seems a troubled place at the moment and many of our fellow humans are doing this trip the other way round in an attempt to find a better and safer life.

"We are so fortunate to be doing this journey because we want to and not because we have to, and we have a hope it will help us to understand in some small way what is going on in our world and what makes us all tick."

Peter, 64, said they don't quite know what to expect but added they are likely to face below-freezing temperatures in central Europe - and then the complete opposite of about 40C in central Asia.

From Amsterdam, Peter and Chris will make their way through Europe taking in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey.

They will then go into Asia through Georgia, visiting countries including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan before arriving in China.

He and Chris, 63, are taking a tent and will also be using Warm Showers, an online community of touring cyclists who offer free hospitality.

Tom Bradford, 65, of Low Row, was among those who showed their support.

He said: "It was mixed emotions. There was elation.

"They were absolutely bursting with adventurous spirit and who knows what they will encounter on the way.

"It's a unique thing. It' still quite uppermost in my mind."

Also part of Peter and Chris's support group was their son and two Australian women they met on their Greece trip, who had made their way from London to see the couple off and cycle to Newcastle.

Peter and Chris will be recording how they get on via a blog at cyclingwalltowall.co.uk