A Wolves legend who joked that he found a couple of his old clearances on the Billy Wright Stand roof. A pair of sisters living in Bristol and Cornwall who – twice – travelled up to take part due to Sunday’s inclement weather.
Another two ladies who were poised to take the leap of faith until the crash of drums and flash of light made it storm stopped play. A Wolves Disability player who completed the challenge, and then went straight off to keep a couple of clean sheets in the team’s first fixtures of the season.
Once again, the Molineux Abseil didn’t disappoint.
The arrival of the inclement weather from Sunday lunchtime which made it too dangerous to continue did cause an issue for those scheduled abseilers who were unable to return for the hastily arranged reschedule slots under blue skies on Tuesday morning. The Foundation look forward to welcoming those participants to the event in 2026.
For those who were able to don the harness and helmet and make the 87 feet journey from the top of the Billy Wright Stand to the safety and solidity of pitchside, it was another fantastic experience alongside delivering vital fundraising for Wolves Foundation.
And that includes Wolves legend and Hall of Famer Geoff Palmer, whose Sunday afternoon slot was postponed until he returned to kick off proceedings first thing Tuesday morning after the excellent organising team from Redpoint agreed to return.
In his 496 Wolves appearances, the two-time League Cup winner had certainly never seen a football stadium from the same vantage point as he did before making his descent.
“It’s high, isn’t it?” he reflected afterwards.
“I was trying not to look down, and my blood pressure has certainly gone up!
“It was excellent though, I’m really glad I did it, not bad for 71 years of age.
“Molineux certainly looks very different from up there, and I found a couple of mitre balls which must have been my clearances from back in the day!
“In all seriousness I’m really happy to have done it and raised a few bob for the Foundation which is what it’s all about.”
And with that Palmer went off to continue a busy day, taking part in Steve Bull’s Golf Event at the Mount Golf & Country Club.
Bailey, the goalkeeper from Wolves Disability FC who produced such an impressive performance during half time of the Focus Fixture last season, completed the abseil on Sunday morning and then headed off to the first adult fixture of the season at Newcastle Town. And proceeded to keep a clean sheet and the game-and-a-half in which he was between the sticks! Meanwhile Kathryn Spilsbury, whose son Jonathan plays for Wolves Disability FC, overcame her fears to take on the Abseil and is among the top six fundraisers.
Foundation ambassador Amber Sandhu followed up her participation in other events such as the London Marathon, Molineux Sleepout and Birmingham 10k with her first ever abseil.
And there was some great support from Foundation Pack Patrons and other local businesses for the event, with many bringing multiple participants. A big thank you, amongst others, to Smart Ballustrades, RG Wilbury, Mercure Hotel Telford and Stratstone. Also to Telford Wolves Supporters Club, with Colin and Deborah Loynton among the first to abseil in memory of Mark Hadley.
There were several taking part in memory of lost loved ones, including Wendy Cullis, who raised £700 in tribute to her father Barry, known as Stan in reference to the Wolves legend.
Sisters Victoria Dove and Fay Coller also decided to take on the Abseil in memory of their father Terry, who passed away five years ago.
But that ended up being just a part of the story.
Victoria now lives in Carbis Bay in Cornwall, and Fay in Bristol, but both were born in Wolverhampton and used to attend games with their Dad.
On Saturday, Victoria travelled up to Bristol with 12-year-old son Leven ahead of heading up the M5 with Fay on Sunday, with their Mum also at Molineux ready to take in the experience.
Victoria takes up the tale.
“As lifelong fans, when we saw this advertised it looked like an amazing thing to do for such a great charity as I love the way the Foundation builds communities,” she explains.
“We also wanted to do it in memory of Dad, who used to bring us to Molineux.
“We came up on the Sunday and were in the safety briefing with our helmets and harnesses on when there was a lightning strike.
“Well, you can’t help the weather, can you!”
Victoria had to return back to Cornwall as she is a teacher and was working on Monday, but then, with the quick turnaround to reschedule, headed back to Bristol in the evening before returning to Wolves with Fay on Tuesday morning.
“This time we had blue skies so we were good to go,” adds Fay.
“I have to say I wasn’t nervous until we got onto the roof, and I was just thinking, ‘can I do this’?
“But the organisers were fantastic, and put us at ease, and it turned into an incredible experience.”
The two were singing Wolves songs as they made the journey from the top of the stand, and despite the long journey – twice – Victoria believes it was most definitely worth it.
“I am just so grateful we had the opportunity to do it,” she said.
David Powell was another who showed so much dedication in returning on Tuesday morning having driven from Leeds on Sunday only to arrive just as the storms started and the plug was pulled. He was the last to complete the challenge for 2026.
Meanwhile there were another couple of intrepid participants who got even closer to the challenge on Sunday, the edge of the stand no less, before having to come back less than 48 hours later.
Ellen Rudge and Emma Grant-King, part of the fan volunteer group who have supported Molineux matchdays over many years, were among the last group to head out onto the Billy Wright roof on Sunday before the event had to be postponed.
“We were the last two of that group and were getting ready to go but when the weather started getting bad, we had to step back inside,” says Ellen.
“We then went back out there again, and I was on the edge ready to start, and then the thunder and lightning started – and that was it!”
“As soon as we saw the instructors’ faces, we knew that it was time to stop and it wasn’t going to happen,” adds Emma.
“They were so good in how they organised everything, and I’m just pleased we got the chance to come back so quickly to enjoy such a fantastic experience.”
“It turned out to be third time lucky,” said Ellen.
“I was actually ok on Sunday but was more nervous coming back because I knew what to expect.
“It was great fun and for such a fantastic cause.”
Even better, McGhee’s Irish Bar in the City Centre had promised both a free pint of Guinness if they completed the challenge, which they were looking to cash in pretty quickly after reaching solid ground!
Everyone deserved to enjoy a celebratory moment after completing such a unique and exhilarating challenge. And a huge thank you from both participants and Foundation staff to organisers Redpoint Birmingham, for doing such a fantastic job.
The Molineux Abseil has raised in excess of £25,000 which will be invested directly into supporting Foundation projects across the city. Thank you, and congratulations to each and every person that took part.
