An enthusiastic welcoming committee cheered (and barked) as two cyclists pedaled through the Port of Dover on the homeward leg of a 10,000 mile charity cycle from Shanghai to London Bridge.

Oli Goulden from Walmer, near Deal, was reunited with his family and his dog badger as well as being greeted by pupils from his former school, Northbourne Park School.

The 31 year-old said: “It was amazing” to see the White Cliffs of Dover when he approached the port on a P&O ferry this morning.

“It was better than I thought it might be. There’s something about seeing the great white cliffs,” he added.

Oli completed the feat with his friend Mattieu Laird in aid of the Operation Smile charity which performs corrective surgery on cleft pallets on kids.

Together they cycled through 18 countries, and stopped off at three mission sites, where operations on cleft pallets were performed.

He said: “We contacted them nearly a year before we set off to set up mission sites.

“In China we stayed with them for a week and saw them operating on about 110 kids in four days or so.

“We went into the operating theatre to see them at work. It was a very humbling experience and it gave a deeper meaning to our trip. It helped keep us going through the hard times.”

Among the highlights was seeing diverse scenery, but the low points were boredom, and being beset with bike repairs.

He said: “It was incredible the different scenery we went through.

“We covered four different deserts, have gone over three different mountain ranges and climbed the equivalent of Mount Everest three times in two weeks.”

After the welcoming committee at the port, the pair cycled to his former school Northbourne Park where staff and pupils put on a spectacular reception, and fed him a “meal of smiles.”

Oli said: "The kids from Northbourne Park have been following our progress and looking at the countries we’ve been going through. I’m hoping the food is as good there as it always was.”

This weekend Oli and Mattieu will have some R&R at his parents house in Walmer.

On Monday they will set off to his secondary school in Cranbrook before finishing the challenge at the Tower of London.