The Yorkshire Three Peaks Walk

The Yorkshire Three Peaks walk is approximately 24 miles which takes on the peaks Pen-Y-Ghent, Whernside and Inglebourough which sums the total of (5200ft) ascent. This is a widely renowned challenge that walkers aim to complete in under 12 hours, there is a also a fell race and a slightly different cyclocross bike race option throughout the year too. 

I undertook this walk with my Dad as a replacement for the proposed repeated walk of the Wainwrights Coast to Coast. Unfortunately due to his knee injury, we had to have a rethink of what his body could physically take, he was well aware that this would further damage his knee but with our impatient nature, we had to do some form of exercise in the outdoors. Therefore due to my worrying mother, she offered support for the day in case he couldn't complete the route. We had two checkpoints/bailout options in place for him at Ribblehead (10 miles in near the via duct which was after Penyghent and before the second peak of Whernside) and on the B6255 on Low Sleights road which was after whernside summit (17 miles in) and just before the last climb up to Ingleborough.

Horton In Ribblesdale to Pen-Y-Ghent (Peak 1)

We set off at 6am from Horton In Ribblesdale with a few other walkers ahead of us. Peak number one (Pen-Y-Ghent) was only 2.5 miles away. I was all wrapped up to prevent the pesky midges from eating me before I started the walk, but this became a regret as I began to overheat as we got into the first climb, which instantly  became very uncomfortable. This section was very pleasant, moral was high, the legs was fresh and because dad had completed this walk twice before I was fully aware of what was ahead of me in terms of hills and tricky sections.

The gradual climb with Pen-Y-Ghent in the background 

Pen-Y-Ghent Climb

   

                                                                                                        The weather was overcast, but hot, which was maintained throughout the day, this made photography tricky but it was much better than the predicted showers that never came to fruition. 

The climb was mainly steady from Horton in Ribblesdale until we got to the bottom of Pen-Y-Ghent, I had done this peak before so I knew a slight scramble would occur. I quickly climbed like a mountain goat and set my camera up to get some landscape shots before Dad arrived a few minutes later, however, the sun was in an awkward angle and we was just inline with the fog. This was a nice peak to start with as it wasn't too tricky to walk up, it was early on the walk and is a great moral booster knowing that you only have two more significant climbs to do. 

A memorable moment for me on this peak, was a group of walkers (approximately aged 70), this highlighted to me how accessible and achievable walking is for all ages. It really is a brilliant activity that I dont always appreciate when doing more intense sports. The biggest advantage with walking is you take in the scenery much more, but i do find it more mentally challenging than other endurance events due to the lack of distance you cover during a day.

We finally reached the summit, which became populated by a few walkers and marshalls who were key checkpoints for charity fund-raising groups. It took just under an hour to reach the first summit (on schedule), all we had to do now was a gentle decent down the peak and through the valley to Ribblehead viaduct (Checkpoint 1)

Pen-Y-Ghent summit 

Pen-Y-Ghent to Whernside (Peak 2)

Ribblehead viaduct

The decent down Pen-Y-Ghent was fairly steady, their was a clear rocky path throughout, which made navigation easy (I didnt even need to use a satmap or map for the whole route). The valley was spectacular as I observed and noted the many bridleways that I could take my bike through in the future. We reached the first checkpoint at Ribblehead, had some snacks in the campervan and set off. We traversed the Ribblehead railway/viaduct for a few miles and took the long gradual climb to the summit. 

Due to the long stop at checkpoint one, the path became densely populated by other walkers seeking the Three peaks challenge. It was almost like a pilgrimage, you could see groups of walkers ahead of you creating a line that you just had to follow! The atmosphere was fantastic and humorous, as listening to walkers who were constantly staring at their GPS/Garmins saying 'If we go 0.2MPH faster, we could complete the walk in x amount of time’ The competitive nature was beginning to open up, even though it wasn’t a race or an event. But this ambitious pace didn’t last for long, many walkers ahead of us were breathing very heavily from trying to increase their pace, but the long arduous climb to Whernside made them suffer. 

The effects of trying to push for a faster time, led to carrying dogs and children!

Once we reached the summit, we did the compulsory touch of the trig point (if you don't have you even went to the summit?) and cautiously began to make our way down . However, the decent was very steep in places with seriously  rocky boulders that you had to shuffle down or weave your way through to prevent the ankle twists and injury. This took a toll on Dad's knee and he began to severely limp and struggle. I began to doubt if he would complete this, as we still had one more peak to go and another 7 miles, but with his perseverance and taking a huge painkiller tablet, he started to skip down the hill like he didn't even have an injury. 

Whernside decent

Whernside to Ingleborough (Peak 3)

Checkpoint 2

We then reached the last checkpoint, Dad was determined to complete the walk even if it would complete destroy him, so we continued to plod on. It was 2 miles to the last peak of Inglebough, the first mile and a half was a steady ascent but then there we hit a pretty steep scramble. 

By this time many walkers surrounding us looked fatigued and began to doubt their ability for the final, but due to the strategic pub and ice cream van location, their moral became boosted and they swiftly started walking.

The start of the climb to Ingleborough

My competitive nature kicked in and I climbed this as fast as I could overtaking many frustrated/fatigued walkers. This was a brutal section, due to the distance we had already covered, but, after gritting my teeth I reached the final summit. In my opinion it was the hardest peak, maybe due to some slightly tired legs but the nature of the climb led to you being on all hands and knees at times. Once Dad reached the summit and he got his breath back we carried on once more, the route doubled back slightly and all we had left now was the decent through the valley to Horton In Ribblesdale.

Ingleborough to Horton In Ribblesdale 

The last section was all downhill, there were many runners increasing their speeds as we hit the final stretch. There were even walkers who began to run which became humorous because if they had less of a stop sipping coffee on the trig points, they wouldn't have needed to exert their body. The views throughout was amazing, which is a credit to the preserved landscape of the Yorkshire dales and the fine efforts from volunteers mending the footpaths and erosion. 

To conclude, the three peaks walk was stunning. The atmosphere was great with loads of like minded walkers of a vast array of ability and ages. The challenge is fairly tough, but with great views and scenery it is easy to complete if you have competent fitness and confidence on technical terrain. Hopefully I will do the fell race next year and maybe the cycle cross race, but, that is a brutal undertaking that requires more time to ponder over and practice hauling a bike up steep hills. I don't understand how cyclists can do that terrain but I do understand why its one of the hardest cyclocross races ever to exist

We completed the walk in 9hr 17mins which was a steady pace that allowed us to have a few foods stops.