AN EAST Dorset woman who set off on an epic charity challenge last year has turned her adventures into a book.

Enid Fookes was just 11 when a cousin gave her a bicycle to ride.

And nearly 50 years later, she took to the saddle again to cycle 1,000 miles from Dorset to her hometown of Dundee, visiting friends and family on the way.

Enid, now 61, said: “It actually wasn’t very nice at all – it was the wettest June on record last year and it just rained and rained.

“I started in Corfe Mullen and I just started cycling.

“I didn’t really do any training at all. I felt that, by the time I got to the hills in Yorkshire, I would have done enough training just getting there.”

After achieving her goal in just a month, Enid decided to write her memories down in a book.

Last week, One Day at a Time: Tales from the Saddle on the road from Dorset to Dundee went on sale at Gullivers Bookshop in Wimborne.

Enid said: “I have told my friends that the cycling was hard, and the writing part was quite hard although I really enjoyed it, but the hardest part of all was getting a publisher.

“That was really difficult. I’m just thrilled that the book is now available.

“It covers an awful lot of my life – not just the ride, but also other parts of my life, including time spent in Botswana and Malawi.

“It’s very exciting indeed for me to go into a shop to buy a copy.”