TAKE ON THE THREE PEAKS!
HERE’S ANOTHER GRAND ambition for summertime: scaling the three highest peaks of Scotland, England and Wales.
The most common way of tackling Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in one single achievement is the Three Peaks
Challenge, an unofficial project in which the aim is to summit all three within a 24-hour period. But as exciting as that can be, it’s not really the Country Walking way of doing it. It’s all a mad rush, with through-the-night driving and precious little time to enjoy these three astonishing mountains in their own right (what’s more, Mountain Rescuers aren’t keen on it, as each year brings call-outs involving fatigued Three Peakers at the end of their tethers). But taking four days and making it into a road trip, with three good nights’ sleep bookending the journey? That’s a challenge that offers all the excitement, but in a much smarter and slowly-paced way. It’s still a big undertaking (a combined ascent of 10,052ft; say that in words: ten thousand feet) but the lack of time pressure means you can actually enjoy the architecture of these hills; their wildlife, their mood swings and their textures. You can stop at your leisure; chat to people; pause at the showstopping viewpoints. And it’s easy to do it on a budget with some good forward planning: there are YHA hostels close to each peak (Glen Nevis, Honister and Pen y Pass) which make it comparatively cheap and easy to get to the foot of each peak if you don’t want to splash out on hotels.
The ‘Three Peaks in Three Days’ approach also gives you the luxury of choosing your route up each one, rather than feeling obliged to pick the quickest possible ascent. On Scafell Pike, for example, the quick route from Wasdale Head is a steep slog and a colossal drive to reach, while the much longer ascent from Seathwaite is one of the finest and most varied mountain walks in the UK.
The summer, of course, gives you the maximum daylight and optimal conditions to play with. It’s perhaps little surprise that the first recorded ascents of all three of these giants happened in the month of August: 1639 for Snowdon, 1771 for Ben Nevis and 1802 for Scafell Pike.
On a slightly simpler scale but no less a challenge, there’s the Yorkshire Three
Peaks: a 25-mile single-day trek encompassing a trio of chunky limestone mountains: Pen-y-ghent, Ingleborough and Whernside, as well as the acres of Pennine upland that lie between them. An epic day, with 5,200ft of ascent: by turns exhausting, magnificent, punishing, exhilarating…
…and entirely unforgettable.
TRY IT: Download Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike, Snowdon and The Yorkshire Three Peaks at lfto.com/bonusroutes