THIS summer, father-of-two Paul Davies, from Wrecclesham, rode from John O’Groats to Land’s End, covering a 1,000 miles in nine days and becoming the latest member of his family to raise money for The Stroke Association.

The ride was dedicated to Paul’s mum, Ann Davies, who died from a stroke aged 71 while visiting Paul’s family in February 2016.

Last week, his family assembled from various parts of the country to present a cheque for £9,500 to The Stroke Association and to celebrate the various sponsorship and fundraising efforts that they have taken part in over the past two years.

First to set off was Cheshire-based Stephen, Paul’s father and Ann’s husband, who walked from Land’s End to John O’Groats, completing the staged walk in May 2017.

His 1,100-mile route used well-known long-distance paths to take advantage of the country’s magnificent scenery and was covered in a total of 64 walking days.

In October 2017, Paul’s elder Mark and his two sons, Sam and Jake, competed in the Manchester half-marathon.

In August this year, Paul cycled a challenging route from John O’Groats to Land’s End, a route that took in two of the highest roads in the UK, the Cairnwell Pass and the Lecht, and saw him battling headwinds and poor weather most days.

Paul covered 1,000 miles that included 52,000ft of climbing – nearly twice the height of Everest - in nine days.

Last to go, Paul’s sister Rachel took part in both the Great North Run in September and the Manchester half-marathon in October.

Accepting the cheque for £9,500 was Sian Thomas, regional fundraiser for The Stroke Association, who said she was "delighted" with the amount the family had raised.

More information about the work of the Stroke Association can be found online at stroke.org.uk.