Yorkshire Three Peaks

YORKSHIRE THREE PEAKS MOUNTAIN CHALLENGE - 05/07/08

PHOTO: Pen-y-ghent - an hour into the walk

What a walk! 26 miles, three peaks (Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough) and some of the worse summer weather I have ever experienced! The five of us completed the walk in 10.5 hours. In all, over 500 people took part in this event to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care. The five of us raised over £1,200, whilst the whole event raised an amazing total of £125,000!

Walking up and across Whenside was the biggest challenge - horizontal rain, gale force winds and a significant wind chill. We were all pretty drained as we reached the summit as we'd walked around 15 miles but also had to tackle the horrendous weather. So we took shelter for 30-minutes in my emergency group shelter, ate lunch and refuelled our energy reserves.

The ascent of Ingleborough was also a bit nerve-racking as forked lightning streaked across the sky. Luckily the storm was a few miles away, but that didn't stop a tropical downpour soaking us on the final mile or so of the walk. All in all, a memorable and enjoyable walk that tested our stamina and resilience to the full. What is happening to our weather patterns...? (the effects of a warming planet, of course - it will only get worse).

Mark Reid

PHOTO: Ingleborough - 8 hours into the walk