Cycling Granny Mave completes 1,000-mile Scotland challenge

An 85-year-old grandmother has finished a gruelling cycling challenge - pedalling 1,000 miles around Scotland.

Mavis Paterson, known as Granny Mave, told BBC Scotland she got a "huge welcome" when she arrived back in Mull of Galloway on Sunday afternoon.

She raised £56,000 for cancer support, in memory of her three children who all died within four years.

Mave was previously the oldest woman to cycle the 960 miles (1,540km) from Land's End to John O'Groats.

Her latest challenge began near her home in Galloway on 29 April. She made her way up the west coast towards Thurso, then down the east coast through Fife.

Mave said it was a tearful and emotional final day, which made the last push to Mull of Galloway lighthouse more difficult.

A crowd was waiting to cheer her on as she crossed the finish line.

She said: "I got stronger and stronger as the challenge went on.

"But on the road to the lighthouse, I was wondering if I was going to be able to finish.

"It wasn't physically difficult, but it was difficult emotionally knowing that the whole challenge was coming to an end."

Mave was riding in memory of her children Sandy, Katie and Bob.

Sandy died of a heart attack in 2012, daughter Katie of viral pneumonia in 2013, and son Bob died in an accident in 2016. They were all in their 40s.

"When my children died I just didn't know what to do," she said.

"When I am cycling, I don't think about them so much, which is a big help to me because the grief is unbearable."

Mave, who celebrated her 85th birthday during the challenge, said the toughest part came at the end of her first week.

"The most physically challenging part was at Fort William, where I was cycling into dreadful headwinds.

"Crossing a bridge I nearly got swept from a pavement into oncoming traffic."

Mave only properly took up cycling in her fifties.

She began helping Macmillan Cancer Support after her mother Cathy and younger sister Sandra died from cancer.

She has fundraised for almost 20 years, cycling across America, Canada and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.

In 2019, she became the oldest woman to cycle from Land's End to John O'Groats, raising £75,000 for and securing a Guinness World Record.

For her round-Scotland challenge she was joined by a friend in a camper van, covering 30 to 50 miles a day, with a few scheduled rest days in between.

In total she cycled 1,051 miles (1,691km) and raised almost £56,000 for Macmillan through JustGiving.

She is already planning her next challenge - the five ferries island hopping route around Arran, Bute and the Cowal and Kintyre peninsulas.

Bruce Port, Macmillan's fundraising manager said: "Mavis is incredible. The challenges she sets herself are astounding and she has achieved some incredible things to raise money.

"It takes a huge amount of determination to achieve what she has."