Yorkshire 3 Peaks - Practice Walk 3

The working week begins again and we're all recovering from a long hard weekend. Our latest training walk took place on Saturday - a 24mile trek in the Yorkshire Dales National Park taking in the peaks of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough that form part of the Pennine range.

We all headed up to North Yorkshire after work on Friday night having to booked to stay over at a local B&B the night before. This would allow us to have an early start which is needed to complete the walk in the day. Our accomodation was the Marton Arms Hotel in Thronton-in-Lonsdale and we'd recommend it to anyone. It is a beautiful place which we found to be very popular on our arrival with the bar and lounge area busy with travellers and locals. The rooms were spacious, comfortable and accomodating with everything you required. All the staff were friendly and approachable and it made a good start to the weekend.

We rose to meet for breakfast at 6am on the Saturday and headed to our starting point of Horton-in-Ribblesdale for 7am. We officially started walking at 7.20am and headed for the first peak of Pen-y-Ghent. The village was packed with many others having the same idea of the earlier you start the better. It was a muggy morning with lots of mist around but the main thing was it was dry. The first peak's climb came pretty soon after starting but the summit wasn't visible with the low cloud leading to curious minds and us not knowing just how far we had to go to reach the top. The opening ascent was tough at first until we got our legs going and our blood pumping. We all reached the top safe and sound and were all chuffed to bits that we'd begun well.

We continued onwards after a short break and made good progress across the hills heading towards the second peak of Whernside. The sun broke through as we made the mammoth trek from Pen-y-Ghent along the Pennine Way and across some boggy moors. The heat only added to the challenge that lay ahead and we all welcomed the odd breeze that arrived now and again.

The second climb was different form the opener. It was longer but not as steep but with the sun beaming down us it was tough at times. Whernside was the highest peak of the three and as we all arrived at the top within 15mins of each other, we took the time to sit and have some food and save some energy for the second half of the walk. The views from up here were great although some mist still lay low. We could however spot the third peak of Ingleborough that lay ahead of us and began our descent. The descent down Whernside was awkward to say the least. It was steep and rocky and a few of us opted to stumble down the bank instead of the treacherous path. We did all make it to the bottom in one piece though.

Our walk towards the third and final peak took us past a little barn that supplied pints of orange squash with ice! Our saviour! We all stopped for some much needed refreshment at a bargain 80p. We all would've easily paid double at this point and many other walkers clearly felt the same as the queues grew larger by the second.

Unfortunately, shortly afterwards a determined Brian pulled up with his much troubled ankle causing too much pain to handle. He had however managed to walk for 7hrs and around 18miles which he should be proud of. He stayed behind at a local pub (not such a bad idea after all) whilst the rest of us marched onwards and upwards. The path took us towards the final peak of Ingleborough and this is where it got really tough. Being on our feet for so long clearly played a part but the steepness of the ascent caused the most problems. It was a slow, tough clamber up the rocks to the summit and at this point my knees and thighs were feeling it and a few short breaks were required to regain my breath. We did all make it to the top though and once again not far behind each other. At this point we all agreed that Brian had made the right choice as the climb and the descent to come were steep and unkind and weren't worth the risk with his ankle. The views from up Ingleborough were fantastic! It was really worth the slog up there and you could see for miles.

So to the last stretch back to Horton-in-Ribblesdale. This is where I, for one had to battle through. It was much longer than I thought and we all agreed that the signposts must have been misleading as it dragged on and on. We did all make it though with the first few returning to the car in 10hrs. Colin actually broke free at the end to break 10hrs though and achieved his late goal. The rest of us followed them in and we all finished within 20mins of each other. A great achievement finishing around or just over 10hrs! Much better than what we could've expected.

We returned to the B&B (via the pub to pick up Brian) and all stayed for something to eat before setting off on our separate ways back home or elsewhere.

It was an awesome day though and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and we are all very proud to have completed the walk. It was hard work but well worth it in the end.

Please check out our photo's on a separate post. Next up is Scafell Pike this coming Saturday. Less than three weeks to go until the National Three Peak Challenge and our main goal now. It's come around fast.