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The Yorkshire Three Peaks
The aim of this outing was to walk the Yorkshire Three Peaks circuit and complete it within the traditional limit of 12 hours. The three peaks are Pen-y-ghent (2273 ft), Whernside (2419 ft) and Ingleborough (2373 ft) and the trip involves a distance of 24 miles with about 5000 feet of ascent and descent.
The idea had originally been Martin's and several people from work had expressed interest in coming along but inevitably some dropped out and in the end we were left with seven people committed to giving it a go. They were: Martin Devlin, Philip Page, Jaswant Golan and myself from work, plus Jeremy Waldron and Godfrey Skinner from Martin's yoga class and Andrew Todd. Since broaching the idea back in November some of us had had a few training trips, taking in Brecon Beacons, Kinder Scout, Beachy Head and a 20 mile Hertfordshire walk round by Great Offley. The Kinder Scout trip had been Godfrey's first experience of any sort of hill walking and he had found the ascent part quite difficult but since then both he and Jeremy had trained quite hard and their efforts paid off on the three peaks. Jas too had been training, doing a lot of running, and he too had improved a lot.
The afternoon before the walk I drove up to Ribblehead with Jaswant while Martin went in Philip's car. Jeremy and Godfrey had left earlier in the day in order to get to the Pen-y-ghent café before it closed and check out arrangements. We all wanted to do it properly and get registered and clocked back in so we could then show off with our Three Peaks ties, mugs and T-shirts. There was a lot of traffic on the drive north but we reached the bunkhouse at the Station Inn, Ribblehead by about 7.30 and Jeremy and Godfrey were already waiting there, sitting in the pub. Martin and Philip arrived about ¼ hour later and sometime after 8.00 Andrew turned up. We all had a meal in the Inn - mine was a slightly disappointing giant yorkshire pudding, vegetable sausage, onion gravy and chips - and then after a couple of pints we turned in.
The bunkhouse had two small bedrooms with 11 bunks crammed into them, a kitchen and a bathroom. Having one bathroom between 7 of us was a bit of a bottleneck but we seemed to manage ok. I roomed with Jas and Andrew but Jas began to snore and Andrew, after trying to persuade him to stop, took his mattress upstairs to the kitchen and slept there. I managed to sleep ok. Some stalwarts were up at 5.30 but I had a lie-in and stayed in bed till 5.50 by which time an enormous pot of porridge was bubbling away. We all filled up on porridge and maybe a banana and a bit of toast then got ready and left the bunkhouse. Outside it was a fine but cold day with the hilltops clear of cloud and blue skies boding well for the walk. We drove back to Horton-in-Ribblesdale then posted our registration card through the Pen-y-ghent café door before setting off bang on schedule at 7.30. After about 7 minutes, however, Martin remembered that he'd left the bunkhouse key in the car. This was important because with the bunkhouse lying at the foot of Whernside we had planned to call in there at midday for Jas to sort out his dodgy bowels. Jeremy as the fastest walker went back and got the key but by the time he returned we had wasted about 15 mins standing around.
With the key secure we now set off towards Pen-y-ghent and had a trouble-free ascent, reaching the top at about 9.30. There were a lot of people doing the walk this day which helped make navigation easy - the path was generally quite plain but on top of that there was always someone striding out ahead of us marking the way. It was quite windy at the top of Pen-y-ghent; windy and cold and I swapped my hat for a balaclava. I already had my overtrousers on though and with four layers on the top half I felt quite cosy. My new Raichle boots were excellent throughout - very comfortable and gave me not a single blister. Martin had bought an identical pair and was wearing them for the first time.
It was an easy enough descent from Pen-y-ghent, then we embarked on the longest leg of the trip, to get to a distant Whernside. It was a bit boggy in places but not too bad and we arrived back at Ribblehead still on schedule at 11.30. The schedule had been worked out in advance both by myself and Godfrey, based on applying Naismith's Rule (3 mph plus 30 mins per 1000 ft of ascent) to the distances and heights quoted in Wainwright's guide. It seemed to work out quite well.
At Ribblehead we had our planned stop for Jas to sort out his bowels and everyone else to have a quick bite to eat. Then we made our way over to the viaduct. The original plan had been to go under it and take the short but steep route up to the ridge, thereby cutting over a mile from the trip. In the event, however, there was a counter-proposal to go the long way round and save our knees - a particularly attractive consideration for Phil. The vote went in favour of the long way round and though I voted the other way I think this may well have been the better choice on the day.
The long way round involved making a loop to the north before ascending the hill by its northern shoulder - a very easy gradient all the way.
We were walking along enjoying the views and saying hello to the occasional fellow walker when someone coming down the path in the opposite direction caught my eye. As he drew level I was about to say hello and pass by when he rather surprisingly said: 'Hello, is your name Alan?' 'Well, yes,' I replied, somewhat surprised for I'd never seen him before in my life. 'From Hertfordshire?' 'Yes!' 'Rhododendrons…' At that point I finally realised who I was talking to. About a month earlier I had received an email from someone who had happened upon my Munro-climbing website and since then we had exchanged several more emails, in one of which I had mentioned that I was going to do the Three Peaks. It turned out that Les, for he it was, lived nearby and had decided to climb Whernside in the opposite direction. He said he had asked someone else at the top if their name was Alan too. Anyway it was a fair old surprise but we shook hands, he introduced me to his wife, Carol, and we managed a brief chat. Very brief really as the others were rapidly disappearing into the distance and I didn't want to be left behind. Then another handshake and we parted. He had told me that he sold and serviced food machinery and that a set of scales in Horton-in-Ribblesdale post office had his name on it. The following weekend he was intending to go to Glen Affric to resume his and his wife's Munro campaign, currently on the 226 mark.
Leaving Les and Carol behind I set off after the others and as I climbed higher I noticed the wind becoming stronger and stronger. By the time we were on the ridge it was one of the strongest winds I have ever come across, blasting in sideways from the east and forcing people to stagger and brace themselves just to stay on their feet. It was icy cold too but fortunately I was dressed well enough to withstand it and was quite thankful for my balaclava.
We reached the top at about 1.30 and immediately took shelter by the trig point on the lee side of the wall there. A girl in a red anorak had had her hat blown off and as it was very cold I gave her my old woollen balaclava which I had spare in my rucksack. I wondered if I'd have been so gallant if it had been some fat old bloke.
After a brief rest at the top we decided it would be a good idea to get a move on and get down from the top out of the abominable wind. We carried on south along the crest towards the point of descent where the path leads down towards the Hill Inn. Martin was beginning to drop behind at this point and looked very unsteady. His preparation for the trip had been interrupted by various circumstances and he was still having difficulties with his ankle and knees and his tendency to walk with his feet pointing outwards. He looked so bad that I was doubting if he'd continue to the last hill but both he and Phil resorted to Ibuprofen at this point and shortly after that his performance picked up remarkably.
Once out of the wind it was an easy walk down past the Hill Inn and over to Ingleborough. As we approached the hill a wall-like barrier loomed before us and I wondered how on earth we were going to get up. The track continued directly towards it, however, and in due course we made out a zig-zag path outlined against the cliff wall. We paused to take stock at the foot of this final ascent then up we went. A very steep, physically demanding stretch, clambering up with the odd hand assistance but fortunately it wasn't too long and once at the top it was then just a short trek up an easier incline to reach the wind-blown trig point (16.04). Wind-blown but not as bad as Whernside. Even so, while we were there a bloke at the top climbed onto the trig point and had his photo taken leaning forward and being supported just by the wind.
The walk back down to Horton was then very easy, being a gradual 5-mile incline with no bog. It allowed for good progress and we reached Horton and clocked in at the Pen-y-ghent café in an official time of 10 hours and 38 minutes. After a pint mug of tea we all joined the Three Peaks Club and bought our celebratory souvenirs - I got a tie and lapel badge.
Then it was back to the bunkhouse and a queue for the shower - 2 at a time in the bathroom with one person showering while his predecessor dried himself. Very cosy. Andrew shoved off back to Ramsbottom, not wanting to share the joys of Jas's snores again, but the rest of us had a meal in the Station Inn and a pint or two. I had red Thai curry this time, followed by sticky lemon and blueberry pud & custard.
A week later my membership certificate turned up - I was now officially Member No 80070 of the Three Peaks of Yorkshire Club. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
