On Saturday I walked the Yorkshire Three Peaks.
… The Valleys, not the mountains.
One of my 30 Before 30 goals was to do a big walk, so a few months ago I signed up for the Yorkshire Three Peaks Valleys walk organised by Heart Research UK. It’s a guided 16 mile walk around the bottom of the Yorkshire Three Peaks – Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent – and an easier version of going up-and-over the peaks themselves (which is a 26 mile, 12-hour challenge!). So at 6.30am on a grey Saturday morning, along with my friends Laura and Clare, I set off for the starting point.
After parking up and registering at the Heart Research tent, we joined the rest of the walkers and set off at 9.15am. It was a mixed ability group with people of all ages and fitness levels, with our guides leading the way at a brisk pace. The first 5 miles was reasonably challenging as we climbed uphill over rocky ground, but after the first checkpoint things evened out and it was nice to just amble along without much effort for a while.
I had high hopes for the weather clearing up, but sadly grey clouds hung over us for the whole 16 miles and we didn’t get a glimpse of the amazing views beyond the mist. It also rained. A lot. Despite the weather, there was still loads to see while walking – cute cows with their calves, lambs frolicking together, gorgeous houses nestled into the hillside and beautiful meadows full of buttercups.
After our lunch stop we decided the guided walk was moving a little too slowly for us, so armed with our instructions and a vague idea of where we were heading, we split away from the group and carried on alone. We could walk at a faster pace and spread out a little more, which meant we blasted the last 6 miles quickly and soon rounded in on the finish point, a little stiff but pretty elated.
The Valleys walk was a great introduction to the Yorkshire Three Peaks area and a really easy way to take on a long distance without the added challenge of tough hills. I’m notoriously bad at hills (when walking, running and cycling) but after doing the Valleys challenge I think I could tackle at least one of the peaks and work my way up to taking on all three.
Fingers crossed for sunshine next time, though!
it is a beautiful landscape, what a cool thing to do.
Ahh! That looks awesome! 16 miles is good going, even on the semi-flat. We’re hoping to do the Yorkshire three peaks at some point this summer, it’s so close it’d be rude not to do it at some point!
I love doing things like this. Before we became parents, Nick & I used to spend our weekends getting lost in the countryside on long walks. I love the feeling of achievement you get at the end.
Sorry the weather wasn’t better but it still looks beautiful x
What a lovely day! I like the idea of doing this instead of the Peaks. My joints would never cope with 26 miles, but 16 just about!
This is gorgeous! I’d love to do this with a group of my friends, sounds so fun 🙂
We walked two of the peaks last year – Whernside and Ingleborough – and that was quite enough for me in one day, it’s tough going! That walk was still about 16 miles so no shame in missing one hill out.
Try the Hole of Horcum walk if you want a bit of a hilly walk – there’s a lovely pub in Levisham for lunch (best chips in the world, no joke) about half way and although some of the walk is hilly, it’s only about 8 miles in length so not too challenging. You can head into Whitby for the afternoon then to recover.
Despite the weather the track and views do look absolutely amazing, it’s so greeeeen! Well done on ticking off another thing on your list.
Megan || Oh Hey! blog
Your photos make me miss Yorkshire so much- it really is God’s own country!
Lizzy from Nomad Notebook
It is super cool that you did this, I wouldn’t even be able to do 1.6 miles!
Maria xxx
ooooof look at that viaduct!
Buckets & Spades
The hills themselves aren’t too difficult, you can totally do it! Try staying in Dent if you’re looking to explore the area, it’s very photogenic 🙂
discoverdentdale.co.uk