Yorkshire 3 Peaks
If you would like an expert walking guide to accompany you on this walk Boot Routes can help…
This 25 mile route can be done either way around, with 3 obvious starting points, Horton in Ribblesdale, Ribblehead Viaduct, and Chapel-le-Dale. There are pro’s and con’s for both directions but the following route description is starting and finishing at Horton in Ribblesdale and doing the walk clockwise, i.e. starting with Inglebrough, then Whernside and finally Pen-y-Ghent.
Plenty of planning and preparation is key to completing this walk (see our top 10 tips on completing the Y3P).
Difficulty level - Strenuous
I have selected the start point at Horton in Ribblesdale as there is plenty of parking there, toilets and it is the traditional starting point for most Y3P walkers. Given the distance of this route I’ll break it down into 3 legs.
Leg 1 - Horton in Ribblesdale to Chapel-le-Dale
Starting at the main car park next to the toilet block (Grid Ref SD 80773 72550), the car park cost is £4.50 for the day, and the machine takes cards, so you don’t need to worry about having enough change. Also there’s a farmers field on the other side of the river that charges £3 for the day. Once you’ve got your car parking ticket, and boots on the walk starts past the toilet block, over the wooden bridge and turn left heading up to the railway station. The short road section here is marked “Private”, but that’s to stop visitors from parking on private driveways and you can continue on foot up the little hill to the railway line. Please be respectful of the local residents here, you are likely starting out on this route on a Saturday or Sunday morning, just when the local residents probably want a lay in, so please keep the noise down. At the top of the small drive take the small gate to the left and cross the railway line checking to ensure that there aren’t any trains coming. It is an active line, so be careful and please shut the gates on either side to prevent any sheep getting onto the line.
Once over the railway line the path is pretty obvious, heading North West up towards the Limestone Pavements and Nick Pot. There are one or 2 gates on the way, so please ensure they are closed after you’ve gone through them. At Nick Pot providing the weather is decent you should get a decent view of the flat summit plateau of Ingleborough in front of you and the outline of Pen-y-Ghent behind you. On this section you may see Tormentil, Early Purple Orchids and Cotton grass. You may also hear Skylarks, Meadow Pipits and Wheatear.
Continue on the obvious path towards Ingleborough where the terrain gets steeper and rockier. See if you can notice where the rock changes from Limestone to Sandstone, here you will note that there is a path junction to your right, this is where you will be heading once you’ve been up to the summit of Ingleborough. Once up the short steep section it flattens out and you should be able to see the trig point, summit cairn and summit shelter, which is built to shelter you from the wind from any direction. Please don’t add any stones to the cairn, by removing rocks from the ground it causes unnecessary erosion and damages micro-climates. You are now at 724 metres and at the top of the second highest of the 3 peaks.
Once you’ve done your summit traditions, i.e. touched the trig point, taken the summit selfie, had a snack, drink etc, you will need to head back in the same direction that you came up until you get to that path junction that I mentioned earlier. Once you reach that junction, take the left fork (the right one will take you back to Horton in Ribblesdale). Down some slab steps and you will arrive at a gate, from here the terrain changes and the slope is very steep. Take your time on this section, surface water can be frozen here, so to add to the steep gradient there may well be ice on the surface. A fall here will hurt, but once you’ve made your way down this section onto the slabs, it’s then a steady walk to the road. At the road anybody wishing to drop out from the walk can turn right here and it’s a couple of miles on the road to Ribblehead railway station.
At the road turn left and walk down the road for a few hundred metres before turning right onto Philpin Lane towards the snack bar. The snack bar serves hot and cold drinks, bacon sarnies, cakes etc, there is a water tap inside the barn, and toilets are available. You will need to make a donation for using the toilets if you haven’t purchased anything from the snack bar. Use this opportunity to fill up your water bottles.
You have completed 12 km or 7.5 miles, so just over a quarter of the way around the route. To achieve the Y3P challenge (.i.e. complete the whole route within 12 hours), you need to be starting the next section 4 hours after you started out at Horton.
Leg 2 - Chapel-le-Dale to Ribblehead
From the snack bar continue on the tarmac track, through some fields that look like you could be on a golf course and at the T-junction turn right towards an old barn and through the gate. You will be able to see the path climbing up steeply in front of you, this is one of the toughest sections of the walk, and now would be a good time to pop some Jelly Babies or Dextrose tablets for that little energy boost to get you up the hill.
The footpath here has only recently been laid and is still being laid as I write this, should you pass any of the workers a warm thank you goes a long way. Take little steps on your way up, lean into the hill, get into a steady rhythm and before you know it you’ll be at the top of the steep section.
From here continue on the obvious path towards the summit, keeping the dry stone wall to your left, there are a couple of false summits but eventually you’ll reach the summit trig and shelter. You are now at 736 metres and the high point of this route. Distance wise you are at roughly 10 miles, so under half way but with the biggest 2 peaks under your belt.
From the summit continue North on the footpath, keeping the dry stone wall to your left, you will eventually drop down onto the slabs, which will ultimately lead you down towards the railway line and Ribblehead viaduct. There are a couple of sections of the path where the slabs are only wide enough for one person, please give way to anyone coming uphill.
Once past the viaduct you can continue onto the pub opposite Ribblehead railway station, they have toilets there, however if you are not purchasing any drinks at the pub then it is common practise to make a donation in the Mountain Rescue charity jar on the bar. Alternatively during the summer months there is a snack bar down at the car park where you can buy some bottled water.
Anyone wishing to drop out here should walk the short distance to Ribblehead Railway Station.
You are now at 15 miles, with 10 miles to go. To achieve the 12 hour challenge you need to be starting the next section 7.5 hours after you started out from Horton.
Leg 3 - Ribblehead to Horton in Ribblesdale
After you’ve sorted out the blisters, from the car park continue on the road towards Horton in Ribblesdale, ideally you want to be facing oncoming traffic but there is a slight path to the left of the road, but just be careful on this section and step into the side if you hear cars or motorbikes approaching from the rear.
After about a mile you will come across a cattle grid on your left but you can quite easily walk down the sides of it, there is no signpost here telling you to turn left. If you miss the turn off and continue of the road you should quickly realise as the feint path at the side of the road has disappeared and you will come to a right hand bend in the road.
Once you have crossed over the cattle grid, follow the track down and through the farm yard remembering to close the gate on the other side of the farm. Follow the track around the bends, crossing the Bailey Bridge over river and onto Nether Lodge farmhouse. Here there is a gate in the wall just past the farmhouse, go through that and over the wooden bridge which offers a great photo opportunity for larger groups.
Continue on the obvious path, but there are a couple of sections where the path turns to grass and if you’re not concentrating you could easily go the wrong way. After a while the path turns into a well defined path which leads you over some Limestone pavements and eventually after a few miles you will arrive on the flanks of Pen-y-Ghent. At Tarn Bar there is an opportunity for anyone wanting to drop out to take the mile footpath back to the cars in Horton in Ribblesdale, this can be tempting for a few but after all the hard work a bit of encouragement and support can stop them from dropping out.
The hill up Pen-y-Ghent is the last major hurdle of the walk, and this is where most people will have to dig deep to get up it. Again, pop some Jelly Babies, small steps, lean into the hill and you will eventually arrive at a large post, where you bear right and the terrain eases for a while. After another mile or so you will reach what is commonly known as the “Bastard steps”, these big slabs seem to go on forever, but once at the top of these and you are at the summit and the last of the 3 peaks with less than 3 miles downhill to go.
After the summit selfies etc, turn right and follow the slab path down to what looks like a cliff from the top. In wet weather this section of smoothed limestone can be treacherous, but watch your footing and take your time, there’s nothing too difficult here, maybe one small step where you need to get onto your bum. After this section the normal path resumes to another steepish section, but again careful footing will get you down without incident.
Once past the second steep section you will see a gate in the wall, go through this and follow the path down. The path gets easier and eventually you will come to a tarmac road, turn right and follow the road down with the river to your right and at the main road turn right back towards the car park.
Congratulations you have now completed the Yorkshire 3 Peaks challenge, give yourself an extra pat on the back if you’ve done it within 12 hours. I would advise anyone with a long drive home, to make regular stops, after about 10 minutes driving the adrenaline will wear off and tiredness will quickly take over. Pull over, get a coffee, power nap, but please take care when driving home.
Above route description written by Darren Parkinson after guiding dozens of groups around the route, hopefully it’s off some use to you. For more information please see our Top 10 Tips on completing the Yorkshire 3 Peaks.
