A thrill-seeking gran is teaming up with her daughter and grandson to scale Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro.

Retired solicitor Sheila Miller, from Canterbury, freely admits she’s “never climbed a hill in her life”.

Yet the 67-year-old is joining daughter Jae Hopkins, 42, and grandson Oscar, 12, in an assault on the 5,885-metre summit in Tanzania.

Mrs Miller, from Oxford Road, is a keen volunteer for homeless charity Catching Lives, and is hoping to raise a pound for every metre climbed.

She says to their knowledge it is the first time a grandmother will have conquered the snow-capped peak alongside two generations of her family.

“It’s very frightening, to be honest – I’ve never done anything like this before,” said Mrs Miller. “I’m not super-fit like some people.

“I know people who cycle great distances, who run regularly, but I’m just not like that.”

It was Oscar who hit on the idea, after learning that tour operator Exodus will soon lower its minimum age limit on Kilimanjaro adventure packages to 13.

“It’s very frightening, to be honest – I’ve never done anything like this before. I’m not super-fit like some people" - Sheila Miller

Oscar, who will have turned 13 by the time of the climb in August, persuaded his mum to organise the climb, who in turn urged her mum to get involved.

Mrs Miller, previously a partner at former city centre legal practice Harman & Harman, says
she is in gentle training for the climb.

“I’ve never been up a hill in my life,” she said. “I’ve started walking more – I’ve been along the Crab and Winkle route.

“I do pilates. In summer I’ll do some sea swimming.”

Asked why her husband Stewart won’t be joining them, Mrs Miller said: “It’s not his thing. He likes to be comfortable.”

The aim of the climb is to raise funds for charity and the family intend to donate half of the proceeds to Catching Lives.

The other half will be split between various Exodus projects around the world, including a Tanzania Porters School that teaches useful skills to both male and female porters.

Mrs Miller is a volunteer cook for Catching Lives, which is the Gazette and News’s charity of the year.

To find out more, and to follow the family’s progress, they have set up a blog.