Walking the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge differently

By Mike Maddox

Middle aged hiker in Yorkshire Three Peaks

I set about walking the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge on the 25th May 2019 in memory of my Mum who had passed away a year earlier.

Determined not to let her memory fade away and maintain her spirit for helping others less fortunate than herself, I took up the challenge to raise money for a local Children’s hospital.

View of Ingleborough from Whernside — Ingleborough in the distance (to the right) as we ascended Whernside.

Although I’m not the fittest middle-aged man there is, I’m in fairly good shape and can run a 10k in about 53 minutes. Yet this was to be my first time walking the Three Peaks Yorkshire Challenge, so I was certainly apprehensive prior to the walk and put in plenty of training beforehand.

Was it harder than I thought it would be?

Probably not, but I was expecting it to be a really tough day out. It turned out to be one of the most difficult challenges I’ve been on that pushed me to the limit.

With all that said, here’s my guide to walking the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge, differently.

A short film of our walk – all three peaks in just 11 minutes.

Overview

At first view, the Yorkshire Three Peaks of Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen-y-Ghent don’t appear to be much more than big hills rolling amongst the green waves of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

So, you may be surprised to learn that they’re all in the top 23 of England’s highest mountains, and once you walk up and down all three of them consecutively, you’ll give them the respect that they deserve.

For the statisticians amongst you, here are the numbers:

Whernside: 736 m / 2415 ft
Ingleborough: 723 m / 2,372 ft
Pen-y-Ghent: 694 m / 2,227 ft
Walking Distance: 38.6 km; 24 miles
Walking Time: Under 12 hours (to complete the challenge)

Route / Starting point

Church in Horton-in-Ribblesdale — Horton-in-Ribblesdale

There are a number of different ways to complete the circuit, either taking a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction, however, the traditional starting/finishing point is in Horton-in-Ribblesdale where you can ‘clock in and out’ so you can have an ‘official’ time.

To make our adventure (and this blog post) different, our guide advised us to start at the Ribblehead Viaduct and tackle it in an anti-clockwise direction for a number of good reasons.

It was a Bank Holiday weekend and there would be crowds of walkers starting out of Horton, and we didn’t want to be part of the herd
If you start in Horton, it means that your final ascent will be Ingleborough which is by far the toughest ascent – we didn’t want to have to manage that on our last legs
By starting at the Ribblehead Viaduct and walking in an anti-clockwise direction we took on the highest peak first (Whernside) which also has the steepest descent – good to get that out of the way
We were pretty much on our own for the entire walk
We arrived in the pretty village of Horton for a break after two peaks where there are facilities such as shops/cafe/public toilets available
Pen-y-Ghent, the smallest peak was left for last

The Ribblehead Viaduct Walking the Yorkshire Three Peaks Differently — We began our walk at the Ribblehead Viaduct.

All in all, his plan worked a treat. The only disadvantage being the long walk back from Pen-y-Ghent to the Ribblehead Viaduct, which is a loooong walk after you’ve been up and down three mountains!

Difficulty

Walking the Three Peaks Yorkshire is no walk in the park, that’s for sure. But nor are they the Himalaya either.

If you’re considering walking it yourself, you’re definitely going to need to have a decent level of fitness. If the thought of taking the stairs up to your office on the third floor fills you with dread, it’s probably not for you.

I trained for the walk by running. A lot. Check out this Expert Running Advice for Beginners post if you need to get your running up to speed!

Walking up Ingleborough - Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge — Walking up Ingleborough – The toughest climb of the Three Peaks.

Our group was fairly fit and we took our time, stopping for breaks regularly and walked at a nice, leisurely pace. Some of the group chose to walk just one and others chose to walk just two.

I won’t lie. It’s a tough challenge but with training beforehand, most people should be able to complete it.

Challenges

Each mountain has its individual challenges depending upon the direction in which you tackle them.

Ingleborough steps - Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge — Looking back down the steps and trail from the top of Ingleborough.

A lot of the walk is on well-maintained paths, but you’ll also be walking on loose stone, grass, roads, rocks and gravel.

There are also a couple of steep ascents and descents, plus a bit of scrambling up steep stone steps on the side of Ingleborough and Pen-y-Ghent.

Then there’s the weather to contend with, which can change very quickly in this part of the world. Expect cold, wet and windy weather, even if it’s a warm summers day when you start out.

There’s very little shelter anywhere on the walk.

Pen-y-Ghent Summit in the clouds — Exposed on the summit of Pen-y-Ghent.

There are very few amenities on the walk. A small shop can be found at Philpin Farm campground between Whernside and Ingleborough, and Horton has some shops and a cafe. However, opening times can be varied and sometimes the cafe can have a 20-minute queue or more!

You could certainly do the walk yourself, however, it’s advisable to hire a guide or at least take a decent map and compass of the area. There are some signposts but there are a few places where you could get lost.

Signpost whilst walking the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge

The Three Peaks Challenge website has some good information about organised walks if you’d like to do it as part of a group, and an awesome FAQ page that should answer any questions can be found here.

As a father with a young son, I’d better mention the fact that the walk is definitely not pushchair (or wheelchair) friendly.

How long does it take?

We completed the walk in 11hrs 59 minutes, just one minute under the recommended 12-hour time limit.

We took plenty of long breaks and didn’t push it at all. Most people walk it between 9 and 12 hours, although the quickest recorded time is 2 hrs 29 mins.

Gear

The Summit of Pen-y-Ghent with a strong, cold wind and rain.

You’re going to need to carry all of your food and water for all three peaks unless you have a driver meeting you at various points.

TOP TIP: Part of our group camped at Philpin Farm Campground which sits between Whernside and Ingleborough, so we only needed to take enough supplies with us for the first peak. When we circled back through the campground we picked up the rest of our supplies for the remaining walk.

If you follow our route, you’ll also pass through the village of Horton after two of the peaks which has some small shops and public toilets.

Don’t bank on them being open though. When we passed by the cafe was closed.

Male hiker in full wet weather gear on a mountain — Dave, in full wet weather gear on a cloud covered Pen-y-Ghent.

You definitely need proper walking shoes, warm layers, wet weather gear and good daypack. A hat and gloves were nice to have on the summits too. The sun does shine sometimes in these parts so suncream/sunhat are recommended plus all the usual first aid gear.

We had some connectivity to our mobile phones at random times, but don’t rely on having a signal.

Walking the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge – Our experience

Starting at the Ribblehead Viaduct and walking in an anti-clockwise direction – Whernside has a lovely slow and gradual ascent with stunning views. You walk alongside some beautiful dry stone walls and the railway line which also has some stunning architecture.

Blea Moor signal box in Yorkshire — Blea Moor signal box.

Dry stone wall ascending Whernside — Stunning dry stone wall construction as we ascended Whernside.

The walk up was long and steady but the descent is quite steep down stone steps that can really test your knees.

Middle aged hiker on the summit of Whernside, Yorkshire Three Peaks — On the summit of Whernside. Peak number one.

The walk between Whernside and Ingleborough is relatively easy going, along winding lanes and farmland.

Walking the valley between Whernside and Ingleborough

Here we passed by the campground and said our farewells to my brother, Phil who’s dodgy knees made going any further impossible and were joined by a good friend, Dave who took over the baton.

Two middle aged hikers at the Ribblehead Viaduct in Yorkshire — My brother, Phil smashed the first peak of Whernside despite his dodgy knees

Spirits were high, the weather was perfect and everything still felt good.

Ingleborough

There’s very little gradient as you approach peak two, Ingleborough, however, this is where you’re going to find a really steep ascent of a few hundred steps and a small scramble at the top.

The top of Ingleborough is a wide plateau which offers lovely views all around, especially back towards Whernside and the Ribblehead Viaduct – we were lucky enough to see a steam train crossing it too!

Three hikers on the summit of Ingleborough — Two down, one to go. The summit of Ingleborough.

The walk down from Ingleborough is simple enough on a good path yet there are a lot of loose stones and trip hazards to watch out for.

The walk then meanders through a variety of farmland and limestone rocks for a good few miles before reaching Horton.

Hikers walking from Ingleborough to Horton in Yorkshire — The long walk from Ingleborough to Horton. Pen-y-Ghent in the background.

We stopped at the public toilets and had a good rest (shoes off) under a tree and broke out the Jelly Babies (great motivator that one!). Personally, I was still feeling great and confident about finishing strongly.

Pen-y-Ghent

From Horton there are roads and a few paths to follow up to more farmland which rises fairly steeply up the side of Pen-y-Ghent.

The final ascent to Pen-y-Ghent is a steep scramble and by now we were completely surrounded in cloud and rain. The elements had set in and I knew then that the remaining few hours were going to be tough and very wet.

The long winding and easy descent from Pen-y-Ghent took us through through farmland and dales amongst sheep and some cracking views of the valley below.

Even though this last part was a fairly easy walk, after 10 hours of hiking my knees and back were giving me some serious pain and so some of the hilly, wet paths made this treacherous for me.

I got a little emotional here as the beauty of the landscape and the physical pain got to me.

Stunning views of Three Peaks Yorkshire — Descending Pen-y-Ghent with some awesome views of the valley ahead.

Bridge over a small stream walking between Pen-y-Ghent and the Ribblehead Viaduct — The lower foothills as we approached the Ribblehead Viaduct.

The final stretch was arduous to say the least along a winding road, each turn I was hoping would be the last.

Time hadn’t been on my mind at all, until now. A quick look at the watch and we knew realised we only had a few minutes left to finish under 12 hours.

In absolute agony, I ran as best as I could around the last few bends and back down to the car park. Our time… 11 hours 59 minutes. I was elated.

We’d completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge and it felt amazing.

That night as I drifted off to sleep I kept returning to the same thought…

If you don't challenge yourself, how do you know what you can achieve?

Ingleton / where we stayed

Part of our group stayed at Philpin Farm campground which is set in a beautiful location just below Whernside. It has good facilities including a small shop and wifi.

An added bonus of camping here is that you pass the campground on the walk, so you can pick up and drop off supplies as you pass by.

Father and son setting up a tent in Yorkshire — Setting up my brothers’ tent with my son at Philpin Farm campground.

As we were travelling with little kids in tow, my wife and I opted to stay in a beautiful little cottage in the village of Ingleton just a 10-minute drive away from the Ribblehead Viaduct. If you intend on staying in Ingleton, I’d highly recommend Copper Cottage and Matt the owner is a really nice guy.

Copper Cottage Ingleton — Copper Cottage, Ingleton.