PILOTS Steve Bridgewater and Louise Walker visited 14 historic venues across the UK in an epic 14-hour journey.

They were aiming to fly to as many Spitfire airfields as possible in one day durinbg their Dawn to Dusk Spitfire Challenge.

The pair took off from Oxford on Thursday at 7.15am and during 10 hours in the air, went on to visit Coventry, Blackpool, Coningsby, Wittering, Duxford, Cambridge, North Weald, Manston, near Ramsgate, Chichester (Goodwood), Lasham, Lyneham, Kemble and Little Rissington. Their Piper PA-28 Cherokee arrived back at Oxford around 9pm.

Steve said afterwards: “The start was delayed by unexpected fog at Oxford and Coventry but once the weather cleared it was a fantastic day to fly.

"We are elated but very tired. We received a fantastic reception at all the airfields we visited and were delighted at all the support we received.”

Supported by Spitfire Premium Kentish Ale, the challenge marks the 70th anniversary of the Spitfire and is aimed at supporting the charity Flying Scholarship for the Disabled.

The charity, inspired by the indomitable spirit of wartime flying ace Douglas Bader, helps disabled people discover their true potential through the mental and physical stimulation of learning to fly a light aircraft.

Scholarship students complete a six-week residential training course in South Africa, which includes 40 hours of airborne tuition and ground school.

Scholarships also take place in the UK where students take a one-week course involving 10 hours of airborne tuition and ground school.

More than 250 disabled people have participated so far. Several are paraplegic and others suffer from cerebral palsy, MS, ME, spina bifida and poliomyelitis.