Tim Peake may have been on a space walk, looked down on Earth and stared into the vastness of space but the British astronaut just misses the rain.

Mr Peake may be rethinking his choice when he returns to British summer on June 18 after his six months on board the International Space Station (ISS).

Speaking during a press conference from the ISS, Mr Peake added he will "cherish forever" the "truly incredible" spacewalk he made with American colleague Tim Kopra.

When the pair stepped outside the ISS in January to make repairs they were given 10 minutes of free time as they waited for the sun to set behind Earth.

Mr Peake's comments were made via a live link to the Times Cheltenham Science Festival, when he also listed the success of educational outreach programmes aimed at schoolchildren as one of his mission's greatest achievements.

In one experiment, children at thousands of schools will grow rocket plants from seeds that were exposed to weightless conditions on the space station.

Looking ahead to the future, past his first shower and spending "private time" with his family, Mr Peake said he believed "space is going to play an ever increasingly important role in our lives".

He also said he would be "rooting for England" in the Euro 2016 football championships but refused to be drawn on where he stood on the EU referendum.