MUCH-travelled Maggie Thompson returned to complete her Land's End to John O’ Groats cycling trilogy by covering the last leg of her epic solo journey from Glasgow last month.

It has taken the plucky 61-year-old from Wordsley four years to complete her length of Britain odessy.

She said:”It’s something I’d wanted to do for a long time.

“Because of the time I had available to me, I had to do the journey in three stages.

“I cycled from Land's End to Stourbridge in 2010 and then did the Stourbridge to Glasgow leg in 2012.

”My partner, Steve Glennie-Smith, had cycled from Land's End to John O Groats in 1997 and that was something that spurred me on.”

Despite her age, Maggie’s no slouch in the saddle and was the British Women’s National Pursuit champion back in 1977-78.

Nowadays Maggie works as Dudley's LEAP Over-50 project co-ordinator organising cycling and healthy footsteps for the over-50’s as part of Age UK Dudley based at the Junction pub in Netherton.

However Maggie admitted: “The weather conditions were some of the worst I have ever encoutered and I nearly called it a day.

“I was planning to ride to Altnahara one day, but because it was remote and exposed, I changed my route and went to Dornoch, north of Inverness, instead where an American lady kindly offered me a room in her holiday cottage.

“Riding there was frightening with such cross-winds, that I had to lean to the left to stop being pushed into the traffic. I owe that lady enormous gratitude.”

Maggie now plans to write a booklet about her experiences.

If anyone wpould like to make a donation in aid of AGE UK Dudley’s Get Cycling for 50 Plus, they can do so online at www.ageukdudley.org.uk