The Yorkshire 3 Peaks challenge is an excellent challenge for serious walkers and I’d definitely recommend it if you’ve thought about doing the walk. It’s a long hike of 25 miles and there are some tips and useful bits of info that I’ve learned from doing the 3 peaks that I thought I’d share below to help you plan your own Yorkshire 3 Peaks walk.
Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge walk – essential info & tips learned from our Yorkshire Three Peaks experience
Read on for the common Yorkshire 3 Peaks questions answered and my essential tips to help you plan well for your walk |
3 Peaks Yorkshire – common questions:
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO WALK THE 3 PEAKS IN YORKSHIRE?
he popular challenge is to walk the Yorkshire 3 Peaks in under 12 hours. Most experienced walkers with good fitness should be able to do it in 10-12 hours. When I did it we weren’t walking exceptionally fast – just normal pace with maybe 4/5 10 min stops and it took us 9 hours and 40 minutes.
HOW FAR IS THE 3 PEAKS IN YORKSHIRE?
The Yorkshire Three Peaks is 25 miles on the best, most popular walking route, as shown on the map below.
IS THE YORKSHIRE 3 PEAKS HARD?
The Yorkshire 3 Peaks is not to be taken lightly – you’ll be walking a marathon distance for around 12 hours and the combined ascent is more than 1,800m, which is greater than Ben Nevis, the UK’s tallest mountain at 1,345m.
WHICH OF THE YORKSHIRE 3 PEAKS IS THE HARDEST?
Pen-Y-Ghent (694m) is the steepest peak if you walk it from the south and you’ll need to use your hands and scramble (I found this the hardest). Whernside is the tallest at 736m but it seemed the easiest if you go up the more gentler path from the east and I’d say Ingleborough (723m) was the second toughest. It can be subjective though – and perhaps for many the hardest is the last peak they do 🙂
Pen-Y-Ghent above is the smallest in height of the 3 Peaks – but the most challenging. It’s best walked up on the steepest south side (pictured right above) and walk down the more gradual way. |
Yorkshire Three Peaks – tips from my experience:
What direction should you walk the Yorkshire Three Peaks?
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WALK OVERVIEW:
WALK DISTANCE: 25 miles
WALK TIME: 10+ hours
WALK DIFFICULTY: HARD
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Where should you start your Yorkshire Three Peaks walk?
There is plenty of free car parking spaces on the roadside around Ribblehead Viaduct – which makes for a good place to start the Yorkshire Three Peaks walk |
When is the best time to do the Yorkshire Three Peaks?
How much water should you take on the Yorkshire Three Peaks?
What toilets are there en-route on the Yorkshire Three Peaks?
What food should you take on the Yorkshire Three Peaks?
What footwear should you wear on the Yorkshire Three Peaks?
What clothes shall I take on the Yorkshire Three Peaks?
Other recommended items to take when doing the the Yorkshire Three Peaks?
- Walking poles may come in handy for the summit descents, especially if your knee’s aren’t what they used to be!
- Plasters might come in handy as blisters are a common occurrence over 25 miles of walking.
- Take a head-torch if you are doing this walk at the time of year when days are shorter – just incase it takes longer than you think or there’s any injuries or sudden mobility issues.
- You’ll be on the walk for 10-14 hours – and a phone battery power bank might help keep your phone in use (important if you are using your phone for directions – bare in mind the signal is poor or non-existent on a lot of the walk)
- Route Maps – to keep you on the right track – make sure you have the Yorkshire 3 Peaks route downloaded to your smart watch or phone (to work without phone/internet signal as you won’t get signal on much of this route) Also take a paper map as a back up as you never know! The paths are pretty clear though.
How much training should you do for the Yorkshire Three Peaks?
photos of our Y3P walk May 13th 2022
TIME TAKEN 9 hours 40 mins
Ribblehead to Whernside:
Whernside to Ingleborough:
One Yorkshire Peak down and now onto the next one! |
The ascent of Ingleborough – this section zig zags up as it’s quite steep – so you’ll probs want to take a few stops to “admire the views” |
The summit top of Ingelborough is quite expansive and very open to the elements. What this photo doesn’t show is the very windy conditions which was right in our faces. |
Ingleborough to Pen-y-Ghent:
Onwards we walk to Horton-in-Ribblesdale, with Pen-Y-Ghent in the far distance |
There’s quite a few signs about to keep you on track – as pointed out here by Mossy |
The distinctive summit of Pen-Y-Ghent is straight ahead and visible all the way from Ingleborough |
The walk leads us next to Horton-in-Ribblesdale |
Onwards to Pen-Y-Ghent- the third and final of our Yorkshire Three Peaks. We’ll walk up the steep section (pictured right) and descend the more gradual route on the left. |
This route up to the summit of Pen-Y-Ghent is the steepest section on the entire Yorkshire Three Peaks route |
Pen-y-Ghent to Ribblehead:
The last section of this route is on the roadside for about 30 mins and spirits are high that we have nearly completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks walking challenge. |
And there you are. I hope this blog post has helped in shedding some light on the Yorkshire Three Peaks walking challenge. It was a great unknown to us before we did it, and whilst there are websites out there with information, we still had a few questions and weren’t exactly sure what to expect on the route. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who is into walking and wants a good challenge. It got us lot fitter in training for it and it’s one of the best days walking we’ve had. After the walk we all stayed the night in Hawes which is a 10 min drive away and has a few pubs for food & drink – so makes for a good place to stay, have a few beers and a laugh and take the strain off the legs. My legs where certainly stiff after the pub and the next day, but within a couple of days we where already planning the next walking challenge..
Hi Stuart. Thanks for your 3 peaks guide – it was indispensible on my first time on the route and your photos capture the vastness. I’ve bookmarked your site and will be definately doing more of your listed routes.
Hi Jonathan – I’m glad it was of use to use you that’s great to know – I hope you enjoy some of the other routes too!