AN ADVENTURE granny from Haslemere is "feeling positive" after cycling to Glasgow for COP26 to highlight the climate crisis.

Author and campaigner Tess Burrows cycled with her 13-year-old granddaughter Elsie. Tess’ friend Rima Chai also took on the bike ride, which raised money for three charities - Protect Our Winters UK, Sustrans and the World Wide Fund for Nature.

The intrepid trio set off from the yew tree at Runnymede, which is believed to be the site where the Magna Carta was signed.

They then cycled northwards along the Sustrans cycle trails. They stopped at schools along the way to speak to children, who wrote their own climate action pledges which were taken to Glasgow. And Tess was blown away by the generosity of people who helped her, Elsie and Rima.

She said: "We were looked after so well on the way up. At the end of every day we looked for hay barns to sleep in, but so many people we met insisted we stay in their house in their spare beds or on their floors.

"Everybody wanted to do something, and this was a way people could be part of COP26 by helping us. The kindness was truly wonderful. It was amazing to see how kind people are."

The journey to Glasgow wasn’t all plain sailing though, with a number of challenges along the way.

"We had a lot of punctures," said Tess. "It was hedge-cutting season with sharp thorns littering the track, but we worked together as a team.

"Elsie has grown up doing things and being active. The challenge for her was the monotony of cycling every day, as children love doing different things.

"The climate action pledges gave us the drive to keep going though as there were a lot of people involved in our story.

"It is people power - so many people have pledged to make a difference."

Tess explained her pride at how the trip has changed Elsie, who was interviewed by media outlets and presented climate pledges to the Bahamas.

"There was a media frenzy," said Tess. "Elsie coped with it so well.

"She was a shy 13-year-old girl who couldn’t face talking to people before this trip, so it was great to see her taking all the media attention in her stride.

"The Bahamas team were there and Elsie presented the pledges to the Bahamas Minister of State for the Environment.

"He passed the sentiments to the Bahamas Prime Minister before he addressed world leaders.

"The pledges from the children show how youngsters can be energised.

"We’ve got to keep going and keep moving forwards. This is only the beginning.

"I feel very positive about how the whole COP26 climate crisis process went.

"In Glasgow there were thousands of people doing wonderful things to assist the bringing in of awareness and action to make sure humanity gets it right.

"We have passed an important tipping point of moving to a bright future.

"We will get there!"