“I’m not ready to say ‘I can’t yet”: Daredevil priest, 75, takes on 90ft abseil for Sheffield charity

Chris Low, a retired teacher by profession, will tackle the 90ft drop from Millers Dale Bridge, on the Peak District’s Monsal Trail, into a narrow gorge below.

She is doing this in aid of Sheffield-based charity Support Dogs, which provides and trains assistance dogs to help autistic children, and adults with epilepsy or a physical disability.

Chris, of Chapeltown, said: “Unless you have an illness or disability, age in itself is in your head. 

“You’re as young as your body lets you be and your mind lets you be. I’m not ready to say ‘I can’t’ yet.”

Chris, the associate minister for St John’s Church in Chapeltown and St Saviour’s in High Green, turns 76 two days before the challenge later this month (May 18).

She last did an abseil around 30 years ago, during a school trip to Butlin’s, encouraging the Year 7s to follow her lead.

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“That was down a cliff face and I’ve never done one into mid-air – it’s a totally new experience for me,” said Chris.

Chris and her husband John tackled the whitewater rapids in Chattanooga, Tennessee, when they were in their 60s.

For her 70th birthday, Chris went on a New Zealand zip trek, whizzing through the treetops of the South Island on a zipwire.

She said: “Most were 18 to 30 and quite apprehensive. There were 10 of us and I was the ‘granny’ of all of them. 

“The chief guide, after the first go, sussed out that I was game for most things, so he kept sending me off first.”

Cornwall-born Chris was one of the first female priests to be ordained in North Devon before following her daughter, Sonja and son-in-law John to Yorkshire 20 years ago.

She has been a volunteer foster carer for Support Dogs for around 10 years and has looked after 16 dogs for the charity, which does not use boarding kennels.

Chris and John are currently looking after a dog called Mackay, and a dog they fostered previously called Dug recently qualified as an autism assistance dog.

Chris will be cheered on during the abseil by her family, as well as members of Winn Gardens Foodbank, which she supports, and the local branch of Soroptimists International, a female-focused charity and lobbying group.

You can sponsor Chris via her JustGiving fundraising page, or sign up for the abseil yourself, which has a minimum sponsorship of £75.