# Yorkshire Dales - the Three Peaks



## Gavin Bl (Jul 12, 2006)

Which do you reckon would be the best to walk up - i.e most rewarding? Pen-y-ghent?

Also which is the 'easiest' to get up?

thanks alot
Gavin


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## Chorlton (Jul 13, 2006)

Gavin Bl said:
			
		

> Which do you reckon would be the best to walk up - i.e most rewarding? Pen-y-ghent?
> 
> Also which is the 'easiest' to get up?
> 
> ...




i've done them a few times now and still dunno which my favourite is - probably inglebourogh, with it being the last there is a real sense of achievement (premature, as the walk down and back to town is still very tough) but i like its short steep pull to the top up the zig-zag - its not the best for views tho - with a broad plateau on the top - best in this respect may well be pen-y-ghent

as for the easiest to get up - its again tricky to answer as ts all about context - the descent of whernside is *very* steep and really kills my knees, so my first ascent up inglebrough was very tough indeed - the second time i did it i had walking sticks so the descent wasn't so bad, menaing the following ascent isn't so bad.

I passed a fella smoking on the way up pen-y-ghent so it can't be that hard


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## oneflewover (Jul 13, 2006)

Gavin Bl said:
			
		

> Which do you reckon would be the best to walk up - i.e most rewarding? Pen-y-ghent?
> 
> Also which is the 'easiest' to get up?
> 
> ...



IMHO climbing Pen-y-ghent is the most interesting, with a bit of a scramble up the last bit. All have been done that many times and with route erosion there are steps and surfaced footpaths around many. 

How are you getting there? where are you based? 

The route which I favour most if by train is, Clapham(yorks) over Ingleborough via Gaping Gill and down the ridge route to Ribblehead. Misses the masses on the popular routes. It has lots of variety with different terrains and scenes. Long drags rather than really steep. You could, if in car, park at Skipton and go to Clapham and back to Skipton.

A meet?


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## Gavin Bl (Jul 16, 2006)

thanks folks, I was hoping it was more of an easy walk than that, as I have kids with me (I'll be on hols). I guess I will have to wait till they are a bit older.....

cheers
Gav


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## Chorlton (Jul 17, 2006)

Gavin Bl said:
			
		

> thanks folks, I was hoping it was more of an easy walk than that, as I have kids with me (I'll be on hols). I guess I will have to wait till they are a bit older.....
> 
> cheers
> Gav




ah, the kids will be fine up any one of the hills....  you can really make them as difficult as you like - take them up pen-y-ghent and then over to the ribble viaduct for an ice cream - they'll be grand


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## beeboo (Jul 17, 2006)

How old are the kids?

I think if they enjoy walking, they'll be fine on any one of the three.  On a clear day the views are amazing, and spotting the viaduct etc is fun for kids.

My parents got me into walking from an early age and these days I can't go near a hill without wanting to get to the top of it


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## Chorlton (Jul 17, 2006)

beeboo said:
			
		

> My parents got me into walking from an early age and these days I can't go near a hill without wanting to get to the top of it



its funny but i think in many cases you may be the exception to the rule, Muriel Gray in the ace book, _The First Fifty - Munro Bagging Without A Beard_ mentions this and state quite clearly that children should only be brought up hills if they scream and cry to be allowed to, otherwise you run the risk of giving them a fear of slopes for the rest of their lives...

I can imagine that had my parents ever tried to drag me up the hills of donegal in the donegal summer (think 'monsoon' but wetter and colder) i would be pretty scarred for life


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## Gavin Bl (Jul 18, 2006)

beeboo said:
			
		

> How old are the kids?
> 
> I think if they enjoy walking, they'll be fine on any one of the three.  On a clear day the views are amazing, and spotting the viaduct etc is fun for kids.


thanks beeboo and Chorlton...

The one who would have to walk, with the occasional piggy back, is only 5 though. She can happily walk 3 or 4 miles, with just a bit of whinging - but not on proper hills.

The other one will be getting a free ride via me.

cheers
Gav


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## H.Dot (Jul 18, 2006)

Gavin Bl said:
			
		

> Which do you reckon would be the best to walk up - i.e most rewarding? Pen-y-ghent?
> 
> Also which is the 'easiest' to get up?
> 
> ...



and which is the toughest?

I'm going to be up North in about 6 weeks time, but I don't do "gentle walks", I do things like this...


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## beeboo (Jul 18, 2006)

Is that Tryfan, H.Dot?  

I'm not sure that any of the 3 peaks are that suited to a 5yr old with a 3-4 mile range, TBH.


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## H.Dot (Jul 18, 2006)

beeboo said:
			
		

> Is that Tryfan, H.Dot?



it is indeed.


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## Gavin Bl (Jul 18, 2006)

beeboo said:
			
		

> Is that Tryfan, H.Dot?
> 
> I'm not sure that any of the 3 peaks are that suited to a 5yr old with a 3-4 mile range, TBH.



I guessed as much, but thought it was worth an ask, cheers anyway beeboo.


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## beeboo (Jul 18, 2006)

Gavin Bl said:
			
		

> I guessed as much, but thought it was worth an ask, cheers anyway beeboo.



Hope you get some nice kid-friendly walks in anyways   Nice part of the country.  Maybe check out some of the caves?



That picture of Tryfan is making me hanker for the hills....


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## pseudonarcissus (Jul 18, 2006)

Gavin Bl said:
			
		

> thanks folks, I was hoping it was more of an easy walk than that, as I have kids with me (I'll be on hols). I guess I will have to wait till they are a bit older.....



I once pushed (and carried) some one in a wheel chair to the top of Pen-y-Ghent.  There an easier way up than the 3 peaks path...I think it might be called the miners' track but it was a long time ago.


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## pseudonarcissus (Jul 18, 2006)

I think you need the Pennine Way south bound path from Horton


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## H.Dot (Jul 18, 2006)

beeboo said:
			
		

> That picture of Tryfan is making me hanker for the hills....



me too. 

going by the photos and descriptions I've found, it looks a lot easier than the kind of ridge walks/scrambles I'm used to, but this is a nice view (reminds me of Yr Aran in the Snowdon group):







I'm going to do this after visiting my mum.


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## free spirit (Jul 19, 2006)

don't be a wus, pen-y-gent's a piece of piss, I reckon I was about 5 first time I went up it, same with all my brothers. The top bit's a bit steep and rocky, but only for about 5 minutes, and your kid should be fine so long as their balance is ok (your kid'll probably be doing mountain goat impressions while you struggle up it).

Pen-y-gent is only about a 2-3 hour round trip even if you're taking it easy, and you've got the cafe / pubs at the start and finish as motivation. If it becomes too much you can always turn round now can't you.

 

H Dot, none of them are tough, if you're after a bit of a challenge you have to do all 3 in one go (or at least the 2 peaks and a pub challenge, which involves stopping at the Old Hill Inn for a quick pint, staying for 7, camping over night then doing the other one on a hangover in the morning).


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## sparkling (Jul 19, 2006)

Lovely countryside    We did the three peaks about 10 years ago.  There we were 3 ladies with only one with walking or map reading experience, one who had done anything in the gym recently and one who had rode a bike for 10 minutes a day for about a week.  Two of us were wearing trainers so for the experienced one I think we were the equivalent of two toddlers moaning and whinging about how far now and 'I don't like the steep bits'  
 Poor Ros carried my rucksack down the hills for me when it went flying past her once.   <I really hated that rucksack> 

Anyway we set off early in the morning, clocking out of that cafe and exactly 12 hours and 10 minutes later we arrived back ...me feeling like I needed hip replacement and asked if they would give us the certificate as we were only 10 minutes outside the time.  In true Yorkshire style they told us better luck next time. 

Still at least we did it


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## H.Dot (Jul 19, 2006)

free spirit said:
			
		

> H Dot, none of them are tough, if you're after a bit of a challenge you have to do all 3 in one go (or at least the 2 peaks and a pub challenge, which involves stopping at the Old Hill Inn for a quick pint, staying for 7, camping over night then doing the other one on a hangover in the morning).



sounds like a good idea, no alcohol though. 

might be good practice for (when I finally get round to) doing the Snowdon 14 Peaks.


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## Gavin Bl (Jul 20, 2006)

free spirit said:
			
		

> don't be a wus, pen-y-gent's a piece of piss, I reckon I was about 5 first time I went up it, same with all my brothers. The top bit's a bit steep and rocky, but only for about 5 minutes, and your kid should be fine so long as their balance is ok (your kid'll probably be doing mountain goat impressions while you struggle up it).
> 
> Pen-y-gent is only about a 2-3 hour round trip even if you're taking it easy, and you've got the cafe / pubs at the start and finish as motivation. If it becomes too much you can always turn round now can't you.



Thanks free spirit - I'll have a think about it....

cheers
Gav


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## CyberRose (Jul 26, 2006)

Sup wi doin all three ya big softy!!!

I did this a couple of months ago for our work's charity but not sure which mountain I'd recommend as 1) I have no idea which any of them are called and b) by the time I did the last one I was completely crippled!!

The last one is pretty cool cos it looks from a distance like you're gonna have to go up the mountain pretty much vertically! The middle one is probably the longest distance but not too steep so a nice walk on it's own at a guess? The first one was the one that the people who were only doing one mountain did (9 miles) which has the added advantage of forming a nice loop back to Horton


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## free spirit (Aug 2, 2006)

H.Dot said:
			
		

> sounds like a good idea, no alcohol though.
> 
> might be good practice for (when I finally get round to) doing the Snowdon 14 Peaks.


lol - yeah the alcohol always makes the last one a right bastard, but once you've done 2 peaks in the pissing down rain it's way too tempting to just have a few pints til it stops raining (particularly if you're doing it with packs, have tents with you etc). I reckon I've done 2 peaks a pub and a long trek down the road from the old hill inn either to horton or the station at ribblehead a few times now, though we usually did it with full packs as part of some expedition for some reason.

cyberrose - is that penn-y-ghent you're on about being 9 miles from horton? I'd remembered it being about 6-7 miles, though I guess it could be 9 from the station


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## CyberRose (Aug 8, 2006)

free spirit said:
			
		

> cyberrose - is that penn-y-ghent you're on about being 9 miles from horton? I'd remembered it being about 6-7 miles, though I guess it could be 9 from the station


No idea! Lol! It was the first one we did (I assume there was a set order to do them in?) You get to the top and either go straight on to do the next peak, or turn off towrds your left and back to Horton. I didn't think it was 9 miles (tho I did the full three) but we were told we could either do the 23 miles (3 peaks) or just the 1st peak (9 miles)

They all just looked like big mounds of grass and rocks if you ask me!


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