An Oxford woman has completed a 2,500-mile trek across Europe - 18 months after she baffled doctors by being unable to walk forwards.

Ali McKay spent seven months walking every step of the way from Oxford through 13 countries to arrive in Athens, Greece.

Yet a year ago, the 47-year-old could not walk forwards without falling over. She could step sideways or backwards - and doctors had no idea what the explanation was.

As soon as her condition - believed to be neurological - improved, she set off on the arduous journey, leaving Oxford in March. She reached her destination at the end of October.

Friends and family are now preparing for a welcome home party at the General Elliott pub in South Hinksey next week.

Her partner, Jos Joslin, of Duns Tew, said: "Ali has done brilliantly. We're hugely proud of her and are delighted that she has achieved her goal and that her health has continued to improve."

When she was struck down with the mystery illness, the two private doctors and two NHS doctors Ms McKay visited were unable to help.

But her condition gradually got better and she knew exactly how she wanted to mark her recovery - by walking.

Ms McKay - who works at the conservation department at the Bodleian Library - set off from the Head of the River pub in Oxford on March 18 and arrived in Greece on October 30.

She hiked to Dover for a cross-channel ferry to Calais - the only part of the journey she did not walk.

She then hiked through France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. After crossing the Alps, she headed across Italy to Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Albania before reaching Greece.

Although her condition had improved before the trek, she was forced to rest every 20 days for up to five days because the symptoms returned.

She was still on her way back to Oxford yesterday and could not be contacted but Ms Joslin said: "Ali has had some wonderful experiences, but the best was probably her time in Albania.

"She was constantly given food and was welcomed into people's homes for the night.

"It's certainly a country she wants to return to and she would recommend it to anyone."

She is catching a boat and train home from Greece, via Italy, in time for the party.