There is not any doubt in my mind that the OP should pay all costs of recovery to base airfield; he could request a breakdown of the final account and dispute any element thought to be unreasonable.
The merits/ demerits of the flying decisions of the day are not relevant to the responsibilities of recovery. (It is good that training/knowledge/skill achieved a safe result.)
The OP should pay.
Last edited by rifruffian; 27th Feb 2020 at 21:30.