{"id":4183,"date":"2025-12-24T19:44:05","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T19:44:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/?page_id=4183"},"modified":"2025-12-29T16:18:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T16:18:14","slug":"cww-grasps-the-three-peaks-challenge","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/?page_id=4183","title":{"rendered":"News: Three Peaks challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Continuing our coverage of CWW’s 20th anniversary, Andrew Zelin looks back at the challenge walks of the mid-2010s.<\/strong>

Up until 2010, one would rarely see a CWW walk over 12 miles long. The exception was a series of increasingly long walks led by Mick Hill, culminating in a 17-miler. Aided by his patient and considerate leading style, these were well attended and manageable for most.

This inspired other leaders to offer walks at the more strenuous end of the spectrum. So a core of fit walkers emerged and CWW began to attract members who wanted to stretch themselves.

Many of us had got the bug to do a ‘challenge walk’ such as the Yorkshire Three Peaks – covering 26 miles with 1,500 metres of ascent, and all to be done within 12 hours. After an advance party completed the Three Peaks on a rainy day in August 2011 it was decided to organise a CWW group visit for the following year. The date chosen was 14th April 2012 (which coincidentally happened to be the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Three
Training in the rain for the Three Peaks in 2012<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To get people ready, some fast and long ‘training walks’ were added to the CWW programme from January. These included a weekend in the Brecon Beacons organised by Graham and Helen Winnett. About a fortnight before the Three Peaks weekend I organised walks of increasing length, culminating in a 20-miler from Watlington with eight hill climbs. These walks were not for beginners. So on the day before the Watlington hike, it was a surprise to receive a call from a newcomer with no experience of any group walking. She insisted on joining us – despite my warning that this was a training walk for a forthcoming challenge event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next day, I turned up to find 19 people lined up and ready to go. 18 were regulars who were kitted up appropriately. However, there was a lady I had not seen before, who instead of carrying a rucksack, was clutching an orange Sainsbury’s bag with a 2-litre bottle of water. Already, I was thinking about points where taxis could be called!

My fears were realised 20 minutes later when we got to the top of the first hill at Christmas Common. It would be another 20 minutes before the lady came into sight. \u201cAm I holding people up?\u201d she asked innocently, to which Graham – with a grin on his face – replied: \u201cErr, yes”. That was the point where he showed her the way back down to the start along the road. It would otherwise have been a very long day for all of us!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Three
Setting out on the Three Peaks challenge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The challenge went well. There was a warm-up walk from our base at Shipley the day before; after which we all descended on the local Asda to stock up on flapjacks and sweet, stodgy food (as we were told to eat on the day) and by the end of the walk, just wanted something savoury.

On the challenge day itself, a Saturday, we took an early train to Horton in Ribblesdale. The weather conditions were perfect. There was a large number of people on this particular weekend and various options were on offer, ranging from sightseeing in Bradford to a single peak (Pen-y-Ghent), two of the three peaks, right up to the full three-peak challenge for those who had done the training.

As there was a range of speeds, it was difficult to keep the 15 or so of us all together so we each went at our own pace, self-navigating. We had our own support vehicle carrying drinking water to meet us at various points between the peaks. The descent from Ingleborough seemed to go on forever, so the Pen-y-Ghent Cafe (which has unfortunately since closed) was a very welcome sight. No less welcome was Shipley’s all-you-can-eat Aargah Tandoori Buffet, where we tucked in afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Three
Walkers reach the top of Ingleborough, their third peak<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Following this success, the Three Peaks challenge and the training walks were repeated over the following two springs. In 2013, learning from lessons of the first year, we organised three small groups that would go at their own speed and stay together. The fast groups managed it all in an amazing 8 hours 55 minutes.

By 2014, almost everyone in CWW wanted to do the challenge, inspired by our marketing slogan: ‘You too can do the Three Peaks’. We split into two groups and, thanks to Alistair Wales who patiently led a group while sustaining himself with his giant gala pie, we all got round just in time to catch the train back to Shipley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Brecon
Tackling the vertical mile in the Brecon Beacons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And so a tradition of CWW springtime challenges was established. For 2015 we wanted to find something different but no less challenging. Graham Winnett came up with a circular walk in the Brecon Beacons with a mile of ascent. This very attractive route took in the main Beacons ridge (Corn Du, Pen y Fan, Cribyn and Fan y Big) with Tor y Foel as the ‘sting in the tail’. To ensure that the ascent would add up to the full ‘vertical mile’, Graham put in yet more hills near the end. We repeated these challenges in 2015 and 2016 and once again, they were well enjoyed and attended.

We didn’t finish with the amazing all-you-can-eat tandoori that we’d enjoyed in Shipley, but we made do with an inexpensive Chinese buffet outside Merthyr.

Well done to all those members who took part in any of the challenges over those five years and thanks for making them so memorable!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

< Read more CWW news<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Continuing our coverage of CWW’s 20th anniversary, Andrew Zelin looks back at the challenge walks of the mid-2010s. Up until 2010, one would rarely see a CWW walk over 12 miles long. The exception was a series of increasingly long walks led by Mick Hill, culminating in a 17-miler. Aided by his patient and considerate…<\/p>\n

Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4183","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nNews: Three Peaks challenge - Chilterns Weekend Walkers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Andrew Zelin looks back at CWW's expeditions to Yorkshire's Three Peaks and the Brecon Beacons' 'vertical mile'.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/?page_id=4183\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"News: Three Peaks challenge - Chilterns Weekend Walkers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Andrew Zelin looks back at CWW's expeditions to Yorkshire's Three Peaks and the Brecon Beacons' 'vertical mile'.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/?page_id=4183\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Chilterns Weekend Walkers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/52236415186\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-29T16:18:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Anniversary-collage2400v3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1869\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chilternsww.co.uk\\\/?page_id=4183\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chilternsww.co.uk\\\/?page_id=4183\",\"name\":\"News: Three Peaks challenge - Chilterns Weekend Walkers\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chilternsww.co.uk\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chilternsww.co.uk\\\/?page_id=4183#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chilternsww.co.uk\\\/?page_id=4183#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chilternsww.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/Anniversary-collage2400v3-1024x797.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-24T19:44:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-29T16:18:14+00:00\",\"description\":\"Andrew Zelin looks back at CWW's expeditions to Yorkshire's Three Peaks and the Brecon Beacons' 'vertical mile'.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chilternsww.co.uk\\\/?page_id=4183#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/chilternsww.co.uk\\\/?page_id=4183\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chilternsww.co.uk\\\/?page_id=4183#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chilternsww.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/Anniversary-collage2400v3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chilternsww.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/Anniversary-collage2400v3.jpg\",\"width\":2400,\"height\":1869},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chilternsww.co.uk\\\/?page_id=4183#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chilternsww.co.uk\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"News: Three Peaks challenge\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chilternsww.co.uk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chilternsww.co.uk\\\/\",\"name\":\"Chilterns Weekend Walkers\",\"description\":\"Great walks and good company\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chilternsww.co.uk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"News: Three Peaks challenge - Chilterns Weekend Walkers","description":"Andrew Zelin looks back at CWW's expeditions to Yorkshire's Three Peaks and the Brecon Beacons' 'vertical mile'.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/?page_id=4183","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"News: Three Peaks challenge - Chilterns Weekend Walkers","og_description":"Andrew Zelin looks back at CWW's expeditions to Yorkshire's Three Peaks and the Brecon Beacons' 'vertical mile'.","og_url":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/?page_id=4183","og_site_name":"Chilterns Weekend Walkers","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/52236415186","article_modified_time":"2025-12-29T16:18:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2400,"height":1869,"url":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Anniversary-collage2400v3.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Estimated reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/?page_id=4183","url":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/?page_id=4183","name":"News: Three Peaks challenge - Chilterns Weekend Walkers","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/?page_id=4183#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/?page_id=4183#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Anniversary-collage2400v3-1024x797.jpg","datePublished":"2025-12-24T19:44:05+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-29T16:18:14+00:00","description":"Andrew Zelin looks back at CWW's expeditions to Yorkshire's Three Peaks and the Brecon Beacons' 'vertical mile'.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/?page_id=4183#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/?page_id=4183"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/?page_id=4183#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Anniversary-collage2400v3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Anniversary-collage2400v3.jpg","width":2400,"height":1869},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/?page_id=4183#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News: Three Peaks challenge"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/","name":"Chilterns Weekend Walkers","description":"Great walks and good company","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4183"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4244,"href":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4183\/revisions\/4244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilternsww.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}