The UK is not the most extreme in terms of challenging environments, due to the pretty fair weather (aside from plenty of rain) and lack of very high mountains or very difficult terrain. However, there are some challenges that the more adventurous amongst you can seek out, and the Three Peaks Challenge is certainly one of them...
What is it?
The Three Peaks Challenge refers to the idea of climbing the highest mountains in England, Wales and Scotland, all in 24 hours. The three mountains are Snowden in Wales (1085 metres), Scafell Pike in England (978 metres) and Ben Nevis in Scotland (1345 metres). None of these are particularly high or difficult to climb in comparison with some of the soaring alps in Europe, and certainly not in comparison to mountain ranges in other continents. The challenge with these three is that each one is quite hard, and they must be done in a short time frame. You need to drive from one to the other, and also be prepared and team focused!
Snowdon and Snowdonia - Wales
This is one of my favourite places in the UK, and the remoteness and wilderness of the Snowdonia National Park allow brilliantly natural views and more than likely a wet climb!
Scafell Pike and the Lake District - England
Based in the Cumbrian national park known a the Lake District (for obvious reasons), Scafell Pike is the highest land around for more than 130 kilometres, and so offers far-reaching views and a sense of being on top of the world (without too much effort)
Ben Nevis - Grampian Mountains - Scotland
Ben Nevis is the tallest of the three, and often done first out of the three, in low light in then evening, ready to drive to the next location overnight. Ben Nevis is a collapsed volcano, and also features a ruin of an observatory on the summit!
Why do it??
The real challenge of climbing these three peaks in 24 hours is not necessarily physical. There is about 3000 metres of ascending to do, and roughly 40 kilometres of walking all in all. And so a long day of walking, but nothing too crazy. The real challenge comes from planning, executing and enjoying the event as a team or group...
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The author
Joe Thorpe
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