Total raised so far £13372.25
Day 30 The Final Climbs
The Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge.
Well what can I say, we tried our best!
The day started off great, 5 am and full of good spirits, 10 Baby goats set off for the 1st climb up Pen Y Ghent. Me, Claire, Ryk, Bev, Louise, Mikey, John, Jim, and joined later by Richard, Tracey and Anthony. (fantastic effort everyone)
We were feeling really strong and fit today and set off in good order summiting Pen Y Ghent in just over 1 hour which is a strong pace. As we reached the trig point the weather turned for the worse with a strong wind now blowing and heavy black skies forming, we didn’t hang about as the rain had started coming down, (our 1st rain for 30 days)
As we headed on the long drag to the Ribblehead viaduct the rain became steadily stronger and we all got wetter and wetter, but spirits were high and everyone still looked in good order, we didn’t really get much respite at the butty van as the rain and wind was constant and there is no where to shelter properly so off we all started for the big climb up Whernside.
By now the heavy cloud had really come down, it was becoming difficult to even see the track, the wind was blowing gusts strong enough to knock me clean off the footpath and the rain was now sideways, every bit of kit I had was soaked, even through to the underwear and my boots had filled with water with the rain running down my legs, a quick check of the temperature and it was now under 10 degrees and being wet made it feel half that again. Physically I was feeling strong, I had a chat with Claire and she was feeling strong too so we pushed on hard for the summit, we arrived a full 20 minutes ahead of some of our party so we made a video whilst we waited in which you can see the conditions we had been operating in. Whilst waiting the cold really started to set in.
As everyone reached the summit I had a quick check with everyone, some of the baby goats were not in good shape, wet, cold, sore and tired but every single one of them agreed to push on for the final summit up Ingleborough ( I am in awe of your spirit and fight)
We hiked the couple of mile down the side of Whernside we no let up in the conditions, in fact they were actually getting worse if that is possible, Claire and I had a chat about stopping the challenge as we descended as some of the goats were really starting to fall behind now, instead we took the decision to head to a barn off the track to take shelter and re group, we found 6 more hikers had taken shelter too, who were also in poor shape, this is when myself and Claire took the decision to call off the challenge, our baby goats would have followed us without question as has been their dedication to us and our challenge but it was getting too dangerous and in the calmness of the following day I know we made the right call as much as it hurt after all the promises we had made to everyone.
2 out of 3 ain’t bad they say.
A special mention to Ryk and Anthony who set off alone in those conditions to get the cars and start a rescue operation for all of us and the other 6 hikers we had found and managing to ferry everyone back to where they needed to be., Hero’s!!
We are not leaving it there and all the baby goats have agreed to get together in a couple of weeks and we will all go back and conquer Ingleborough together, so its peace out for now, but not the end.
The support and donations have been simply staggering from day 1, so my heart goes out to every single person who has believed in us.
We raised £6851.00 for this challenge and £13,372.25 for the whole 12 months of challenges. xxx we can make a difference if we pull together xxx
Day 29
Holdron Moss 1320 feet
We had to make a change today, Claire hurt her knee yesterday and it would be such a shame if we aggravated it and she couldn’t finish the challenge tomorrow on the 3 peaks, so we opted for this much shorter route, with knee straps and hope she can go again tomorrow for the finale.
It was a lovely hike with great company again , this time some friends I’ve known for over 20 years, Dave and his wife Linda, so thanks guys for the great company, the support and for a great mornings hiking.
Day 28
Roseberry Topping 1049 feet
Also know as the Matterhorn of Yorkshire, it is a beautiful climb and nice and short so maybe it will put a bit of life in the legs ready for Friday.
Thanks to Bev, Mark and Ryk for joining us, great company and good fun.
A special shout out to the lovely couple who donated £20 to us as we started the climb, you are amazing humans, it gave us a real lift, so thankyou so much from our hearts, it means the world to us x
Day 27
Malham Cove 1213 feet
Back in the game today, spent some time sorting the feet out last night and the mood is bright again.
A little smaller today to try and give us a little extra recovery time as the 3 peaks challenge is only 3 days away now.
Thankyou to the lovely people we met who have made a donation, you are amazing humans x
Well over 900,000 steps between us now and nearly 50,000 feet of climbing, we are nearly there now.
Day 27
Simons Seat 1591 feet
A truly beautiful climb, I have done this before, but today I had nothing left and had really hit a wall, both big toe nails are turning black with the constant bashing from the boots, calf muscles are in constant pain now, so a massive thankyou to Claire for pulling me along, she really is a rock.
The donations are the only thing keeping me going now, so the biggest thanks to everyone who is supporting us.
Day 25
Ilkley Moor and Cow and Calf Rocks 1319 feet
The donations are just mind blowing, they just keep coming! I am truly amazed and humbled, I genuinely thought we would raise a couple of hundred pounds which would have been brilliant, but we are heading for £5000.00 We can only thank you all so much for your unreal support, we are so tired but we will get to the end together with all of you x
An easier day today, we are trying to save as much energy for the 3 Peaks on Friday.
Ilkley moor is still a slog to the summit but it was again made much easier by the amazing support we have had, so a big shout out to the new Goats that joined us today, Claire’s great work colleague, Kirsty and her daughter Violet, thanks for the pork pie Kirsty x My beautiful sister Bev, her amazing husband Ryk our daughter Carla and our super walking grandson Joseph x
Another day done!
Day 24
High Seat 2326 feet
Finally in Yorkshire.
Feeling so much better today and being joined by great company has made things so much better. We were joined for the 1st time by my sister Mel and husband Colin, its really nice to have new goats with us.
A tough climb on tired legs that I manged to do without too much difficulty, Claire was still very tired and struggled today, we had some doubts and some tears but with great company and encouragement she dug deep and pushed on. Well done my girl, we are all so proud of you x
Day 23
Darwen Tower 1220 feet
Today we had to make a change to the planned walk, it was a 5 and half hour drive from the Cadair Idris to the start of the Yorkshire walk. We arrived at the caravan at 8pm, with no clean washing, and very tired so we decided to head home, wash clothes and reset with a smaller hike and head to Yorkshire tomorrow. We are so Flat today.
Day 22
Cadair Idris 2930 feet
Brilliant day today, what a beast of a mountain to climb, but probably the best so far, absolutely stunning.
Again our energy levels were at rock bottom, but the fantastic people (and the sheep who stole my dinner) we met along the way made the day so special.
I want to give a special mention to the Cragg Boys! The energy from the 4 of you was a real boost, and the journey you have taken for your dad is a thing of real human beauty.
I don’t have anything to offer you in regards to your amazing donation except for the thanks from our hearts.
I hope you manage to get together every year now.
Finally thankyou to Wales, what a country, the only thing that surpassed the beauty of the mountains was the genuine people we encountered along the way!
Day 21
Crimpiau 1558 feet
So we thought we would add this as an easier day after a tough day climbing yesterday.
How wrong we were, I only read the route description this morning, “a fierce mountain with an unrelenting climb, don’t be fooled by its height, rating Hard!”
Oh well off we went, and yes it was a hard climb, both of us had very little left to offer today.
But wow what a stunning hike, it is just beautiful and worth what little energy we had to climb it.
Day 20
Yr Eifl 1841 feet
Again a walk with some stunning 360 degree views from the summit, so thankyou beautiful wales you have not let us down, however, wow 20 solid days now of relentless heat on every hike, we are really starting to fatigue now.
We met a lovely couple from down Brecon beacons way who really boosted our moods with their positivity and reminded us why we are putting ourselves through this, to show everyone you can keep living with a terminal diagnosis and to raise as much as we can at the same time. so thankyou to you two.
Day 19
Snowdon 3560 feet
Wow what a day, the views are stunning and we met so many lovely people on the trail.
I cant even begin to explain how tired and heavy our legs were today, but somehow they actually warmed into the challenge slightly and we summitted in good time, Snowdon you are a worthy adversary.
Again we were given donations along the way by incredible people who took time to listen to our story but also hand over their hard earned money and offer us words of support, we cant thank you enough and consider you incredible human beings, all I can offer is our thanks from our hearts, it means so much to us, so again thankyou thankyou thankyou xxx
Day 18
Holyhead Mountain 1127 feet
As you can see from the video, today was a bit of a cock up, the carpark on Pen Y Pass for the original hike up Craig Fach, requires booking the day before which we didn’t do, so off to Holyhead Mountain as an emergency substitute.
What can i say, what a hike, the views are some of the best in the whole UK, its a tougher climb than its height suggests or maybe there is just nothing left in our legs now.
Anyway we really enjoyed it and again met some wonderful people as we went, so a special shout out to the amazing couple from way down Somerset who stopped to give us a donation, thankyou so much for your donation and support you will see it on the donation page shortly, it truly means the world to us.
Day 17
Mynydd Mawr 2290 feet
Great day today, a tough climb but we were joined by fresh company that made it feel easier, so thanks to the team, Ricardo, Chloe, Carla, Alisha and Glen, so nice to see you all.
Again I have to say we were humbled to meet some amazing fell runners at the summit who had a collection and donated £45.00, the kindness of total strangers is unreal, so thankyou you really are beautiful human beings, may your fell running legs stay strong.
Day 16
Made it to Beautiful Wales finally. I love Wales but Wales loves a big mountain!!
Moel Eilio 2382 feet
As always the weather is red hot again today, there is no breeze at all to rescue us today.
The climb is a tough one as it starts steeply and the gradient just slowly increases all the way to the summit.
We met some lovely people who were on the decent as we were climbing up, they had taken a large group of school kids hiking, it was so nice because when we left them to continue on our journey all the kids stood and gave us a lovely clap, it almost immediately recharged our batteries. We will never get the opportunity to tell them what it meant to us, but hey kids, thankyou so much xxx
Day 15
Beacon Fell 873 feet
Finally the last day of the Lancashire Peaks as we now jump in the car again and head to Wales to tackle the Snowdonia range.
As always a great day today with brilliant company as we were joined by new goats, the lovely Holly and Debbie, work colleagues of Claires.
The donations are just mind blowing, so thankyou thankyou thankyou x
Well over 200 mile still to climb!!!
Day 14
Pendle Hill Pendle hill – 557 metres (1,827 ft)
Spirits were definitely high today, we were joined by a couple of ex work colleagues, Yvonne and Francesca who are both a perfect tonic after two long weeks of slogging up and down fells.
Again thankyou for all the wonderful donations , support and love offered by everyone, it really does mean the world, not just on these red hot fells but everyday too. x
Day 13
Great Hill and White Coppice 1252ft 7.5 miles
Hot Hot Hot
Temperature was reading 27 degrees as we set off, so its been a tough hike today. Big thankyou to Carla for keeping our spirits up all the way, time to rest up for an early start again tomorrow.
Day 12
Parlick fell and Fairsnape fell.
5.5 miles 1710 feet
After yesterdays heat we both had a bit of a wobble mentally so today with renewed spirit and up at 5.30am we tackled this climb before the sun started to really bare down on us. We both feel strong and positive again especially when we received a lovely donation from Colin who we met at the summit of Clougha Pike in yesterdays heat, he also took the photos from the summit, never said a word about a donation and left in the distance with his wife. So a big thankyou to Colin and his wife, what beautiful human beings you make all this effort worthwhile. x
Day 11
Clougha Pike Circular 1335 feet.
Today has been a tough day, we have both really been feeling the cumulative effects of the last 10 days hiking, we are 100 miles in now and the heat has been brutal everyday so far, I’ve just checked the weather forecast for tomorrow and it peaks at 32 degrees!
A good nights sleep and a 6am start tomorrow to avoid the worst of the weather, I’m sure we will be back in good spirits.
Day 10
The Pretty Mudder Race for Life 5k Challenge
After finishing Nicky Nook climb in the morning it was off to Preston for the annual pretty mudder for Cancer Research UK.
The Baby goats turned out in numbers for this, it was a great event, with great company and we raised a massive £796.25
Day 10
Nicky Nook Circular
Good fun and we were joined by a good group of baby goats this morning, so a special shout out to Nathan, Kirsty, Darcy, Gabriel, Emma, Joss Caroline, John, Christine, Louise and Mikey and not forgetting little Minnie. Thankyou so much for your company and support xxx
A nice easy day today, almost a rest day, there is only 700ft of elevation on this one and 4 miles of trekking, we put this in because we have to be back in Preston to do the annual pretty Mudder 5k Race for life after lunch (also for cancer research uk)
Day 9
Rivington Pike, Winter Hill and Two Lads 12ooft, 1496ft and 1276ft
We did this as an evening hike which was a nice change, the long route around so another 7.5 miles in the boots. Day 9 and we are both still feeling strong, no blisters or anything yet, so on we go again in the morning at 7.30am
Week 2 Day 8
Longridge Fell 1148 feet
Well its the start of week 2, finally out of the Lake District and on to all the iconic fells of Lancashire.
Nice easier day today, completed with our lovely neighbours who have been a source of support ever since diagnosis day.
We’ve have now climbed more cumulative feet than the Matterhorn and by tomorrow will have gone past the summit of Mont Blanc. We are tired now, but hey, we are still moving. Cancer doesn’t stop so we wont either!
Day 7
Sour Howe and Sallows 1686 feet of climbing 8.3 miles
Well what a week, finally we have finished the Lake District section of the challenge and the over riding memory of it will be heat, its been so hot and hard climbing everyday but we have met some amazing people, and listened to some peoples personal stories and it has made it all worth it, so thankyou to everyone for supporting us all week. We go again in the morning and tackle all the iconic Lancashire Fells.
Day 6:
Low Fell and Fellbarrow
Total 8.3miles 1388 feet
Beautiful day again today, Just the two of us but we pushed on, moaning the whole way about how sore our calf muscles were!
It was well worth the effort as the donations keep coming, so big thanks again today to everyone who is supporting us, both with donations and with love and support it means the world.
Day 5
Silver Howe Circular
6.2 miles 1300 feet
Great day today, we were joined by Claire’s sister Diane, whose husband was diagnosed with cancer last September.
We pushed on hard today with tired legs and bodies and was grateful it has been a shorter day than all the others so far, it will give us some much needed time to freshen up properly, have a good meal and some sleep ready for tomorrow mornings adventures to start again.
Thankyou again for all your donations, our collective will and support for each other will one day end all this suffering xxx
Day 4
Harrison Stickle Circular
7 miles today, 15,600 steps 2415 ft
Back on our own today, it is a very hard climb, parts are incredibly steep, some bits were down to all fours scrambling, but it was so worth it with the amazing people we have met along the route, a random fell runner chased after us to hand us a £10 note and some fantastic people at the summit had a whip round and gave us £30, and a guest at the hotel donated £100, peoples generosity just humbles me everyday, thankyou just isn’t a big enough word but I have nothing else to offer, so again thankyou to each and everyone of you from our hearts x
Finally a special shout out to Grace and her husband, Grace your bag of medical supplies was a thing of wonder, thankyou so much.
Day2:
Lingmoor Fell via Side Pike 1540ft of climbing and 15,000 steps.
Set off with fairly stiff legs this morning that soon eased off and Claire with a sore shoulder and hip after yesterday’s fall, but we soon forgot our aches and pains as we headed up the pretty steep climb up the fell.
The weather was absolutely stunning but a bit too hot for hiking so we both feel drained this evening, time for an early night ready for our 5am wake up call to head for Helvellyn and climb up and around Striding edge and swirral edge circular, the 3rd highest peak in England. We must be bonkers!
Day 1:
Coniston Old Man via Goats Hause 2632 feet of climb, 25,000 steps and 1 sore big toe.
Well, what a start, It was a hard climb in the heat, but we have had some amazing donations, we cant thank your generosity enough it means so much, and we’ve met some wonderful people along the way who were incredibly supportive.
Claire had a nasty trip on some rocks about 100mtrs before the end of the hike, a bit of blood and some bruises, I hope she can push on tomorrow.
So time for some much needed rest, ready for a 6.30am start again tomorrow. 31 More summits to go!!
Well the time has almost arrived, the boots are dusted off and we have insect repellent a plenty on hand.
I haven’t had any treatment for a while so hopefully that will give me the energy to push on and complete this awesome challenge with my wingman and most important person, my Crazy wife Claire for being the driving force behind this and me everyday.
Here is the full list and dates of all the climbs we are completing, some are slightly smaller to allow us the driving time between walks and counties, but I’m sure you will agree its a fair grand tour for us oldies to tackle.
Hopefully you will see the max effort we will need to put into this challenge that it may just inspire some of you to make a small donation to the amazing cause of Cancer Research UK Donate here
Starting June 1st 2023
1st coniston old man✔
2nd lingmoor fell✔
3rd Helvellyn via striding edge✔
4th Harrison Stickle✔
5th silver howe✔
6th low fell and fellbarrow✔
7th Sour Howe and Sallows✔
8th longridge fell✔
9th rivington pike and winter hill✔
10th 13.30pm race for life✔, nicky nook fell✔
11th clougha pike✔
12th Parlick and fairsnape fell✔
13th Great Hill and White Coppice from Brinscall✔
14th pendle hill✔
15th beacon fell✔
16th Moel Eilio From Llanberis✔
17th mynydd mawr (the elephant)✔
18th Craig Fach from Pen y Pass✔
19th snowden✔
20th Yr Eifl ✔
21st Crimpiau ✔
22nd Cadair Idris ✔
23rd wild boar fell ✔
24th high seat ✔
25th cow and calf walk✔
26th simons seat✔
27th Janet’s Foss, Gordale Scar and Malham Cove✔
28th Roseberry Topping✔
29th Holdron Moss ✔
last day 30th
Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge
ingleborough
pen y ghent
whernside