A man from Burwell has raised over £2,000 for charity after embarking on a 2289-mile cycle from his village to Istanbul.

27-year-old Matt Bryan spent 46 days in the saddle, rolling 4,650km through 14 countries in a bid to raise funds for Cambridge Community Arts.

Wholly inspired by his friend Lauren’s solo effort a couple of years ago, Matt decided to give it a go himself and has raised £2,197.

“I left my village on August 18 and reached Istanbul on September 23,” said Matt.

“Whilst on the journey, I made sure to take some days off to rest, so visited some of the cities such as Paris, Vienna, Budapest and Dubrovnik.

“The reality was I didn’t have endless time or cash, but it was nice to see the world whilst travelling from A to B.

“I’ve just finished my masters in law so I thought in-between that and starting my career, it was the perfect time to do it.”

Matt, who is a trustee for Cambridge Community Arts, was averaging 100km a day and during some of the route, he was accompanied by his best friend Joel and his dad.

“Joel joined me to Paris and then I was alone all the way to Vienna until he came back to cycle with me to Budapest," said Matt.

“Dad joined from Budapest to Dubrovnik which was lovely.”

Matt was gifted a bike for the trip, but says he fell for thinking a “really aesthetic” one was the best option.

“I got a 1977 vintage touring bike which looks amazing and actually it’s really well made!," he added.

"I only had two problems throughout the journey where I actually thought ‘I’m not going to make it'.

“A local mechanic managed to pull me back from the dead – I’m not a particularly extroverted person but it was lovely talking to people when I was on my own and felt a bit sluggish.

Matt arrived into Istanbul on September 23 where he stayed for a couple of days before flying back to England.

“I never thought someone like myself would be able to complete a journey like this because you always think people who are more ‘outdoorsy’ would do this type of activity,” said Matt.

“I’m feeling very accomplished and am so grateful for everyone's support.”

You can donate to Matt through his Localgiving page.