Pen-y-Ghent (Yorkshire Three Peaks)

-
One of the most demanding walks in the UK is the "Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge", which  requires walkers to climb to the peaks of Pen-y-Ghent, Ingleborough and Whernside in under 12 hours.  This entails walking a distance of 25 miles and approximately 7,000 feet of ascent in total.  Those who successfully complete the challenge within the 12 hour timeframe are eligible to join the Yorkshire Three Peaks Club.  Whilst it is certainly one of my ambitions to complete this challenge, in the first instance my aim is to concentrate on conquering the peaks one at a time.

And so it was in August this year that I set off to tackle Pen-y-Ghent.  This wasn't just to be my first "Three Peaks" summit,  but also at 2,277 feet  Pen-y-Ghent is officially a mountain.  At the beginning of this year, when I took up walking seriously again, I promised myself I would start to tackle hills and eventually mountains.  It had taken a little longer than I anticipated, but after my adventures in the Preseli Hills of Wales I felt ready for a proper mountain, albeit a small one.

 
There are several routes to the top of Pen-y-Ghent and we opted to take the most popular southern ascent.   Leaving from the village of Horton-in-Ribblesdale, the route climbs steadily to begin with, following the line of drystone walls until the serious final stage, which includes something of a scramble on bare rock.  It's a very popular walk, with people converging on the summit from all directions.  Joining us on the ascent  were family groups, fell runners, dog walkers and those taking part in the bigger challenge.

 
We chose to make the walk a circuit (approximately 8 miles) and so descended by the gentler northern slope, thus passing by Hull Pot.  This is a natural feature, formed when the roof of a natural cave collapsed and said to be the largest natural hole in Britain.  My photograph doesn't really do it justice - but it was a long way down!  The only way down to the bottom is by rope.

 
Unfortunately the day was overcast and the light less than favourable for photography (most of my pictures were taken with my phone), so although I did take a shot from the summit, the view looks rather lacklustre.  However, the lack of sunshine did make for a more comfortable climb.

 
The climb wasn't too difficult and it left me wondering whether I could perhaps tackle the full challenge after all.  With one peak down and two to go, I decided to reserve judgment until I'd properly acquainted myself with Ingleborough and Whernside. 
 
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Egton Bridge & Glaisdale Rigg (North York Moors)

-
Image
Sometimes I have no clue where I would like to go for a walk.  As our favoured walking day is Sunday, I usually spend at least an hour on a Saturday evening pouring over my maps and browsing walking sites on the web, searching for inspiration.  But sometimes that inspiration just doesn't come.  This was the case one Sunday morning in April, when I got up to make breakfast without a single idea where we would be heading.  And then I discovered we were out of honey.  The decision was made!  We would go to Egton Bridge, on the northern edge of the North York Moors, because there, from a little cottage by the river, can be found the finest heather honey money can buy.  Over breakfast I plotted out a circular route from the centre of the village which would take us along the banks of the River Esk to the neighbouring village of Glaisdale, along the high moorland at Glaisdale Rigg and back over Egton High Moor. It was a lovely spring morning.  The sun was shining brightly and it was un
Read more

Cleveland Way Day 9 – Robin Hood’s Bay to Scarborough

-
Image
My first instinct, when the alarm on my phone rang out at 5 a.m., was to immediately turn it off, roll over and continue the deep refreshing sleep from which I’d been rudely awoken.  A quick glance at the Met Office app, however, provided an instant reminder of why I’d set such an early wake-up call in the first place.  The forecast temperature for the day ahead was set to soar to 32 degrees, with barely a breeze to provide any relief.  The sooner we set off, the cooler the temperature and the easier the going would be for the initial, most strenuous section, from Robin Hood’s Bay to Ravenscar. In preparation for our early start, we’d bought some flapjack and biscuits which, along with a coffee from our room’s hospitality tray, made up our breakfast.  By 5.30 a.m. we were stealthily creeping down the stairs, feeling somewhat conspicuous as we left our room key on the bar, quietly unlatching the front door and gently closing it behind us.  Robin Hood’s Bay was still well and truly fast
Read more

Cleveland Way Day 7 - Runswick Bay to Whitby

-
Image
They say time flies when you’re having fun and, whoever “they” might be, they’re not wrong. It was hard to believe, when I awoke from a heavy night’s sleep, that we had been following the Cleveland Way for one whole week.     It also didn’t immediately dawn on me that this was my birthday.     Perhaps I’d dreamt it?     A quick check on social media confirmed that I hadn’t.     I may not have had any cards or presents to open, but Facebook did provide me with a long string of birthday wishes to read and acknowledge before breakfast.     Ordinarily, a late start to the day might have disrupted our schedule, but as a short day’s walking lay ahead, it mattered not that our hotel didn’t start serving breakfast until 9 a.m., or that we didn’t venture downstairs until 9.30.       It turned out that the only other overnight guests had been the couple from Croydon, who we’d met the previous evening and who were just finishing their breakfasts as we arrived.  After exchanging our “good mornings
Read more