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The history of the walks so far in words and pictures
Complete details of the totals raised from our Walkers and Corporate Sponsors
The ups, the downs, and all the bits in between
Preparation, Hints & Tips
Handy tips and sound advice for tackling those peaks.
Some interesting features associated with our walks
All the other bits we couldn’t fit in anywhere else
Three
Peaks
Challenge
Copyright © 2003 to 2008
G. Mitchell and P. N. Lynskey
www.threepeakschallenge.com
The ThreePeaksChallenge.com Walk is a fund raising walk across the peaks of Pen-y-ghent Whernside and Ingleborough in the Yorkshire Dales, and other locations in support of the Dave Owens and Frank Goodall Memorial Fund
http://www.threepeakschallenge.com
Never Again ! (Speaking after the 2003 walk about a similar walk for 2004).
I was one of the last few to make it back to the beer garden at the Crown Hotel in Horton-In-Ribblesdale (11.5 hours after setting out). You had to be there to gauge the mood. Although exhausted, everybody shared the sense of achievement at having taken part in such a demanding challenge for such worthy causes. Friendships had been struck by individuals who at 5.30 am that morning had never met before. They had just spent a hard day walking together.
Even before I could blow the suds of my first beer, attempts were being made to badger me into organising the whole thing again next year. The euphoria must have got the better of me. In the pub afterwards I took a drink and opened my mouth to say “I’m never ever going through that again”, but unfortunately it came out “Yeah, we can’t let a day as memorable as this get away without doing it all again”.
... The date had already been set for Saturday 19th June 2004 !
Gerard.
June 19th 2004: After the resounding success of our first event in June 2003 the obvious danger for 2004 was that it might be a case of following the Lord Mayor’s Show. To some degree this did prove to be the case.
After the glorious weather of 2003 the heavy rain which soaked a lot of people to the skin made it harder for the less well prepared. Being informed by the Landlord of the Old Hill Inn after an hour spent trying to pitch a tent on a limestone base that they were on private land did nothing to make the Support Team feel the day was going well.
However through it all, and due to the hard work and efforts of all who contributed to the day we managed to raise the sum of £13,640 which was distributed across the four charities we are now supporting. Here are some of the photos from the day...
1. Pen-y-Ghent Summit. Of the thirty seven who started the walk shown here are fifteen on the summit of the first peak of Pen-y-Ghent. At 07.15 hours there's still a nip in the air. It’s very often too cold to hang about waiting for the rest of the trailing group to catch up and because of this the other walkers have already bagged the peak and kept moving. In line with our tradition the ladies who make up the support team have tackled the first climb. Shown on the photo are Stella Mitchell wearing a smart light blue jacket and a cheesy grin; Margaret Mackie wearing a super thermal white vest that must have been developed by NASA if it can keep you warm when everybody else needs at least a fleece; Ann Mitchell who couldn't decide whether the occasion called for a white fleece or a green jacket and so as women often do took and wore both; Pat Burton who we plucked straight out of the Famous Army Stores shop window; Wendy Lynskey in her Summer 2004 multi-coloured Aztec collection; and Louise Mitchell just peeping out from behind some bloke in all blue who's trying to hog the whole photo. (Doesn’t he always... Ed.) (Oh well, it’s his camera). They'll soon be hotfooting it back down to Horton to meet Phil Lynskey and get the mini-buses and people's equipment moving down the valley to the checkpoints. Shown also on the far right are Colin Dingley and John Williams who travelled up the previous evening from Warwick as they had booked two night's accommodation in Settle.
2. Aqueduct over Settle-Carlisle Railway. After following the path alongside the Settle to Carlisle railway and signal box the walkers are about to start the climb up Slack Hill to the second peak of Whernside. At this point the aqueduct and the footpath pass over the railway just before the trains enter Bleamoor Tunnel.
Bathed in some of the only sunshine of the day are Mathew Ackroyd, Phil Hemingway (2004 top fundraiser) and Vanessa Proctor representing the members of Gawthorpe St. Mary's Cricket Club. Also shown are Pete & Margaret Mackie (wearing her walking jacket now the sun's come out) and John Mitchell.
3. Whernside Summit. With the climb of Whernside conquered it's now two down with only one to go. At the summit we found early pace-setter Steve Orme (far right) wandering around aimlessly so we allowed him to join our group. Colin Dingley (2nd left) almost missed being photographed due to receiving an urgent phone call. We weren't sure whether it was his stockbroker or bookmaker. It turned out he was placing a large bet that the rug-headed kid on his second left would nick-off with his sponsor money. (explanation: at the time of writing there was a ‘rug-headed kid’ in the photo (between Phil and Vanessa) but as with any participants of threepeakschallenge.com who collect sponsored money for our recipient cancer charities and then don’t turn it in, I’ve digitally cropped his head off..Ed).
2004 Comment
My friend Dave Owens died of oesophageal cancer, and the Oesophageal Patients Association (a small group based in the West Midlands) were of great comfort to Dave and his wife Rita during their most difficult times. On receiving our donation Lynne Watson their Patient Support Manager gave me a call to thank all the walkers and sponsors who were involved. She was elated by the fact that the donation would pay their phone bill for a full nine months. I would like to pass on my personal thanks and also the gratitude of the charities concerned.
Gerard
“In 2003 I was getting nervous when the numbers (walkers) hit the fifties, but with the experience gained I’m not really concerned about how many take part in 2004”
Gerard Mitchell
2. Aqueduct over the Settle-Carlisle Railway
4. Train over Ribblehead Viaduct
Website: http://www.threepeakschallenge.com : Copyright © G. Mitchell and P. N. Lynskey
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2004 Walk : Three Peaks Challenge - Horton
4. Train over Ribblehead Viaduct. As we were heading off Whernside and down through Bruntscar, we were lucky enough to spot a steam train crossing the Ribblehead Viaduct. Whether or not it was a well recognised Engine or not is unknown to us, but it certainly cut an impressive dash. The little railway station at Ribblehead is well used by the walking fraternity and is easily reached from West Yorkshire by a regular service from Leeds station. This section of the line is very handy for anybody only wanting to do two peaks. After parking the car in Horton you can catch the train to Ribblehead, walk Whernside and Ingleborough before arriving back at your original departure point. 100 metres from Ribblehead station, under the shadow of the viaduct is the aptly named Station Inn. This typical dales pub serves decent lunches and also has the timetable of trains to and from Leeds and Carlisle chalked on a black board above the bar.
