HER adventures would give a woman half her years pause - but for Mavis Paterson, who is about to set off on an epic 1030 mile cycle around Scotland, age truly is merely a number.

Mrs Paterson, or Granny Mave as she's also known, will turn 85 during her month-long bike challenge, which will see her cover the length of the country cycling between 50 and 70 miles per day.

It's an extraordinary feat but the grandmother-of-three is spurred on by two things: the memory of her children and a determination to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Mrs Paterson lost all three of her children within the space of four years, a "grief that never dies" but that prompts her to carrying out impressive charity challenges. 

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"I thought, how can I carry on living without my children?," she said. "I used to meet with friends who would always be asking, 'How's Katie?' She was an eventer and they were always keen to hear how she was getting on and how were the boys. 

"You do talk about your family but I can't do that now because mine are gone.

"I can listen, but there's always a sadness there. The grief never dies, it never goes away.

"But the cycling is good for me, I can take my mind off things when I'm on my bike. People stop and speak to me when I'm on the bike and give me money for Macmillan and that is wonderful."

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Having lost her mother, Cathy, and her younger sister, Sandra, to cancer, Mrs Paterson has spent the past two decades coming up with ideas to fundraise for Macmillan.

She then lost her youngest boy, Sandy, in 2012 to a heart attack at the age of 43; Katie died in 2013 after contracting viral pneumonia when she was 49; and Bob died in 2016 at the age of 47 when he was involved in an accident. 

From her home in Auchenmalg, overlooking the Mull of Galloway, Mrs Paterson, who was widowed in 1996, is preparing to set off on her latest challenge in the memory of her children and for Macmillan.

It will be an epic adventure around Scotland but, she says, less stressful than the Guinness World Record she achieved in 2019 when she cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats over 23 days, raising £75,000 for charity.

That had specific time limits to it where as this will be a slightly more leisurely affair.

Having learned to cycle as a girl, Mrs Paterson, a retired nurse, didn't take up the sport until her 50s. She had enjoyed cycling but found it difficult to do when her children were small so, instead, began running half and full marathons.

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Eventually she needed two new knees and two new hips - "they call me the Bionic Granny" - and so began cycling to protect her joints.

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She has completed challenges across Australia and Canada, and says the key to keeping going - especially on hills - is to "don't look at the top, just keep going, keep going".

It was a mantra that served her well on a journey across Canada when her friend became ill after the first three weeks of an eight week trip and she was left alone.

"I was alone for five weeks in Saskatchewan and that was quite scary because I had a loaded bike and I slept in my tent," she said.

"I just found somewhere in a field to sleep for a night.

"It wasn't easy and also boys in cars would toot. I could easily have been robbed or knocked off my bike but nothing happened like that."

However, shortly before this, Mrs Paterson had been cycling in Alberta, Canada, and had an astonishing experience of the kindness of strangers.

She said: "It was a lovely day and I went out just with my shorts on but within about an hour there was a big black, black sky and hail stones and wind, so I actually toppled off my bike. 

"I lay on the ground and I was shivering and a truck stopped and I couldn't talk, my mouth was solid frozen with ice.

"A man picked me up and put my bike into his trailer and put me into the front of his car. I thought I don't care what happens to me, I was at that stage, it was awful."

The man, it turned out, was a school head master and had a holiday chalet where he allowed Mrs Paterson to stay while she recovered.

She added: "There was food, wine... I stayed for three days, the best days of my life, the days were wonderful. I've never forgotten my knight in shining armour."

Asked whether she quite enjoys defying the expectations of what a lady of 85 might be doing, Mrs Paterson said: "Gosh, no. I don't feel my age. I've never, ever thought of my age. 

"What's the point of thinking, 'I'm 85?' You're on the planet and you've only got one body, make the most of it." 

To donate to Mrs Paterson's fundraising efforts click here.