Category: Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge

Yorkshire 3 Peaks

16/10/2020

Ingleborough summit, now on the home straight

Last Sunday we were joined by Helen, April, and Amy. All were keen to have a go at the mighty Yorkshire 3 Peaks. At 40km and almost 1600 metres of ascent, this isn't one to be taken lightly.
All were clearly fit and used to being in hilly terrain, so this was going to be speedy.

We set off in the dark, but soon the head torches were packed away as the first glimpses of sunlight allowed us more of a view. We made it to the summit of Pen y Ghent just in time for a glorious sunrise, that definitely made the 4.15am alarm call worthwhile.
The long stretch to Ribblehead passed by in a blur, speedy as we were. There was a tea van by the roadside so we stopped for a rest and a brew, that tasted wonderful, a real tonic. A long and steady ascent to Whernside followed, the path was by now quite busy and this slowed our pace a little. A strong and chilly wind blew across the summit ridge but we found shelter by the dry stone wall and enjoyed some of our lunch.
Two down, one to go! Once off the summit the temperature warmed considerably, I think it may have been t-shirt weather for a while, which was nice. The lower slopes of Ingleborough are home to some amazing limestone pavement making the scene all the more wild.
The ascent of Ingleborough is also extremely muddy and slippery, we had to go very carefully on much of the ascent. The terrain improved once on the broad ridge and even becomes rocky again near the summit.

As can be seen in the photo above, views from Ingleborough were far reaching and we absolutely had to spend some time taking it all in.
Home straight now and about 7km of relatively easy walking leads back to Horton-in-Ribblesdale. After such a big day it does feel like a very long 7km, we were all feeling pretty knackered. We were also feeling very happy to have ticked off this mega day and enjoyed some wonderful conditions.

We spent about 11 hours out, never rushing, and taking in the views the whole time.

Thanks to Helen, Amy, and April.

Mark

Perfect conditions for a big walk

Sunrise from the top of Pen Y Ghent

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A successful and sunny Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge

13/7/2017

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First peak of the day - Pen-y-Ghent

Another successful Yorkshire 3 Peaks challenge, this time for a group of friends - Sam, Emily, Kimberley, Kate and Lindsey who are raising money for "Save Babies Through Screening Foundation UK". This was just one of several challenges these awesome ladies are completing this year!

The sun shone all day providing ideal conditions and fantastic views for this tough 24.5 mile challenge which takes in Pen-y-Ghent (694m), Whernside (736m) and Ingleborough (723m) – a total of 1600m of ascent.

Ribblehead viaduct and Whernside beyond.

Starting at Horton-in-Ribblesdale one can clearly see Pen-y-Ghent and with fresh legs this was reached comfortably before tackling the long flat section over to Ribblehead viaduct before taking the long ascent up Whernside. Then steeply down to Chapel-le-Dale and on up to the final peak of the day, Ingleborough. The descent of this peak always seems a long way, especially with tired legs but the limestone scenery is truly beautiful and there’s always lots of wild flowers to see!

The team finished in under 12 hours – so a big well done to all! Many thanks Jim Evans for guiding them around!

Final peak late in the day - Ingleborough

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Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge - June 10th

17/6/2016

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Yorkshire-3-peaks-ascent-of-first-summit-pen-y-ghent

Ascent of the first summit - Pen-y-ghent (694m)

The Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge is no easy challenge – 24 miles and about 1600m of ascent in less than 12 hours. Unlike the National 3 Peaks challenge, this is one continuous walk and of similar distance although less ascent.

The three peaks that you ascend are Pen-y-ghent (694m), Whernside (736m) and Ingleborough (723m) but there is also a fair amount of flat(ish!) terrain and some long but gentle ascents, which can make for some fast walking if the legs are up to it.

There is a fell race which does this route annually in April and the record time which was set in 1996 is an amazing 2 hours 46 mins! However our focus is to get clients around this challenge in a realistic walking time, with an aim to do it under the 12 hour challenge time. No matter whether it is 10 hours or 13 hours it is an awesome achievement and your legs will know about it the next day!

yorkshire-3-peaks-challenge-ingleborough

Heading towards Ingleborough (723m)

The group I guided around the route last week were a corporate group from Holland. Some were regular hill walkers and a few were first timers but they were a fit and determined group and we walked most of the route at a cracking pace only slowing slightly on the last section when some had problems with sore feet and knees.

The tea van at Ribblehead was as ever a welcome sight for a cup of tea, and a few egg and bacon butties were happily consumed, supplementing the rather inadequate packed lunch the hotel had provided!

Although the day had started with some rain, the cloud was off the summits by the time we reached them. Unfortunately, the midges were out in their hoards sending us off the summit rather quicker than we would have liked.

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The group on the final summit of Ingleborough!

The descent from the last summit is long when your legs are tired but it goes over some beautiful interesting limestone countryside – lots of limestone pavement and wild flowers. However the end was in sight and the thought of a well-earned pint in the Golden Lion spurred everyone on – a great finish to a long and satisfying day.

Well done all and thanks for your great company!

Kate

Mossy Saxifrage

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Yorkshire 3 Peaks - 13th June 2015

14/6/2015

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Yorkshire 3 peaks challenge, Pen-y-ghent

First summit - Pen-y-ghent

Yesterday I was out with a group of 10 people from Cook Foods on a Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge. They were raising funds for Teenage Cancer Trust. Verity was also there to help me with the guiding, along with ‘mountain dog’ Don!

We were lucky as the previous week the weather forecast had predicted a very rainy day but by the time Saturday arrived they had revised it to possible showers. In fact we only got our waterproofs on once, coming off Whernside - and they didn’t stay on long!

The 24.5 mile route starts at Horton in Ribblesdale and heads out to the first of the three peaks – Pen-y-ghent (694m). With everyone still fresh this was the easy one! After that there is a long, long walk to the Ribblehead viaduct where we stopped for a short lunch break, made use of the roadside tea van and delved into first aid kits to sort out sore feet.

The route then follows the viaduct before the path takes an extremely long but gentle ascent up Whernside (736m), the highest of the three peaks. It was quite cool on the summit so after a quick photo stop we headed off again. There’s a short, super steep section descending Whernside which was starting to get damp and slippery, slowing things down a little but with care we eventually were on flat ground again and heading to the road crossing at Chapel-le-Dale with its tempting pub. Unfortunately two of the team called it a day here, a very difficult and emotional decision when so much effort had already been put into the day, but with time rapidly passing by, we had to make speed or be out in the dark.

So we continued on to the last peak of Ingleborough (723m), the summit of which was now in the cloud. For tired legs it looked a million miles away. It was definitely a tough one as we’d been on our feet for over 9 hours so were feeling pretty tired. However determination to get to the end of the challenge won the day and we made it to the summit plateau in good time for team photos. The descent off Ingleborough was gentle but long and the end of our challenge at Horton in Ribblesdale couldn't be seen until right near the end - however the scenery made up for this with the path negotiating beautiful limestone pavements where I saw lots of flora including orchids, saxifrages and primulas.

Getting to the car park was a welcome sight – 13 hours since we had set out. We left the team ending their challenge with a ‘team’ stretch of the legs before heading back to their hotel for some welcome food.

For ‘mountain dog’ Don it was also a challenge, his longest walk so far and as soon as he got into the car he fell soundly asleep – a very tired dog, although with four legs I’m sure he wasn’t as tired as the rest of us! He also slept most of the following day and did not have his usual keenness for walkies!!!

Well done everyone and many thanks Verity, Chrissie, Alex, Lorna, Gemma, Caroline, Issie, David, Matthew, Alison and Chris for such great team spirit and making it an enjoyable day!

Kate

Yorkshire 3 peaks guided walk - Whernside

The long ascent up Whernside on Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge

Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge Guided Walk - Whernside

Whernside summit on Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge

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Yorkshire 3 Peaks

A successful and sunny Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge

Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge - June 10th

Yorkshire 3 Peaks - 13th June 2015

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