Yorkshire Three Peaks

After a two separate Club trips in November 2022 to Pen-y-ghent in international company (https://www.yorkmc.org.uk/dales-pen-y-ghent-12-nov/) and to Wernside & Ingleborough in company of some of the Club's retirees, I thought it'd be a good idea to walk the Yorkshire Three Peaks in one go. Very few seemed to agree this was indeed a good idea, so I went alone.

The Yorkshire Three Peaks is a 24 mile walk (about 40 km in real units) with about 1500 metres of ascent. Preparations for the walk included some routes across Yorkshire: around Helmsley, the Wolds, a fun navigation through the North York Moors from Hole of Horcum to Scarborough, and a recent club trip in Nidderdale (https://www.yorkmc.org.uk/nidderdale-circuit-03-sep-2023/). None of these shorter routes came without niggles, so the Yorkshire Three Peaks was genuinely expected to be horrible. The stories I'd heard painted a grim picture: a deceptively pleasant ascent up Pen-Y-Ghent, followed by a grueling journey to Wernside, and the walk down from Ingleborough back to Horton would be detrimental both to the knees and the morale.

I camped in Horton at Holme Farm (£5 for a tent; £2 per person; £4 for a car, £1 for a shower; good value, but VERY noisy), and due to the forecast of a hot day started my walk at 5:20am with a belly full of breakfast. There were already about a dozen of people climbing up the hill; aside from them fell runners, all were expressing their regrets. My still sleepy legs struggled to defy the gravity that was pulling down on my rucksack filled with 4 litres of water and my own bodyweight's worth of sandwiches, scotch eggs, pasties, flapjacks, and plenty of gear that I would never need (still wondering why any part of my brain thought bringing a spare pair of sneakers would be a brilliant idea). In effect, going up Pen-y-Ghent was NOT a stroll through the park. This walk was probably the worst idea I've had all year.

However, at the summit I was greeted by a refreshing breeze and views of the sun rising over the rolling eastern hills. The valleys in the west and northwest were filled with fog, and the clear summits of Ingleborough and Wernside were calling me.

The descent into the valley towards Wernside was actually pleasant and I managed to keep a good pace. After some navigation through the fog at the few places without a distinct path, eventually on the horizon the clear summit of Wernside appeared. Through the mist there was a discernible contour of the train bound for Carlisle; This was encouraging, as it meant I started to approach Ribblehead viaduct, from were I was familiar with the remainder of the route. Thanks to the Wernside-Ingleborough walk of last winter, I had a good sense of the distance towards the summit of Wernside and reached it without much difficulty. What also reached the summit without too much difficulty were the clouds. Due to a lack of good views I did not spend too much time on my first lunch, and started to descent into the valley towards Ingleborough.

The walk from Wernside to Ingleborough seemed much shorter than my recollection, which was thanks to the dry conditions and the absence of the ice and verglas that slowed us down last winter.
The ascent was rewarded with a cloudy summit without any views. My clock suggested that I might've been able to complete the Yorkshire Three Peaks under 9 hours. Thus, I didn't waste too much time on the summit and tried to have a good pace back down to Horton. I didn't quite make it under 9 hours (I clocked in at 9:09), but keeping the pace in during the last 2-3 miles helped to not be distracted by niggling knees, a scorching sun, and general exhaustion. Back at the campsite, I relieved my painful shoulders from carrying my rucksack, which was still packed with enough food to do this walk another four or five times. It was time for my second lunch, and a well-deserved pint at the Crown.