Yorkshire 3 Peaks Debate

It is estimated that nearly 100,000 walkers came to the Yorkshire Dales to climb the 3 Peaks (24 miles, 5,500 feet of climbing).  The difficulty and distance make a completion a cause for great satisfaction. Sadly most will never return.

As a guide on the 3 Peaks I would estimate 65 to 75% of walkers complete the walk within the 12 hours with a further 10% completing the walk in a slower time. I would go as far to say it is the best 1 day challenge in England.

Ingleborough from the Old Hill

In addition to the satisfaction of the challenge the visitors (and their relatives/support team) bring in a considerable revenue. Not just to the businesses in Horton but also there is a knock on effect in the nearby towns and villages. Many stay in the accommodation, they use the pubs, shops and restaurants, they use the mountain guides and, in addition, make a considerable amount of money for charities, both national and local. All good.

The Reality of the Challenge (or any Challenge)

The most important fact to remember is this is a “Challenge” walk and therefore leaves little room for enjoyment. Satisfaction on completing the challenge for sure, but as a stepping stone to move on and gain a greater understanding of the Yorkshire Dales and the Great Outdoors it has little effect on the individual. It is simply a tick, move on. There is no longer term benefit to the local economy, peoples health and to inspire those to become advocates for the area.

Surely more important than completing the challenge, is the deep rooted motivation to enjoy the outdoors further. A return will be prompted by pleasant memories and a purpose to make more of any subsequent trip. This may well be another challenge (but surely not the same one) or better still a need to explore the area further. This is the holy grail. The 3 Peaks Challenge does not provide this.

I have been guiding hikers for over 10 years on the Yorkshire 3 Peaks (less so now) and I can honestly say that an enjoyment of the surrounding scenery is low down on the list of priorities for the vast majority of participants. Below is a typical (and real) conversation I had a couple of years back:

Pen-y-Ghent

Hiker: How are we doing?

Jonathan: You are doing great but we may have to wait for John who is struggling a little.

Hiker: Oh, does that mean we may not finish in 12 hours?

Jonathan: Possibly not but you will all finish

Hiker: Can I go ahead then?

Jonathan: No we will have to wait for him so we stick together. Ingleborough summit is a confusing place in this weather.

Hiker: Expletive, I knew he should not have come, I told him he couldn’t do it.

Jonathan: But at least you will all finish and complete the Challenge and you can enjoy the scenery. Have a wander on to the limestone pavements just there, they are superb, some of the best in England

Hiker: (strange look, passive aggressive). That’s not why I’m here, I don’t care.

Summit of Pen-y-Ghent

The point being people see this as purely a ‘challenge’ and in a number of cases hikers are even unsure they are in Yorkshire let alone take the quick diversion to Hull Pot. It can be almightily depressing.

Not all is rosy

For years the main problems were the paths and the route itself. However over the past 15 years work on Pen y Ghent, the swine tail on Ingleborough and the rebuild path off Whernside have vastly improved the route. Not only has it made a more pleasant (and easier) experience for walkers, more importantly it has restricted the hikers to the path, thereby protecting the environment (and the peat in particular). The rangers will no doubt carry on the excellent maintenance work but for the time being no major work needs to be carried out.

The contrary to this though is that the route is now a paved thoroughfare. It is hard on the feet, an eye sore and certainly encourages little exploration and reflection. A fellow guide remarked to me once “I may as well walk round the Trafford Centre”. Slightly extreme but on any given Saturday from May to September the crowds are not dissimilar.

Particularly in Horton

One of the main issues is the village of Horton in Ribblesdale, usually used as the start of the challenge. Many of the residents are increasingly unhappy with the behaviour of some of the walkers. As a guide I have witnessed some bad behaviour and in many cases the residents are justified in their moans. Early in the morning parking is an issue, later in the day noise and celebrations become a problem. The issues are compounded by anti social behaviour, despite the fact that toilets are available they are not always used! The local anger is, at that level, understandable.

I would also add that anti social behaviour is more noticeable on the route itself. There is a lack of toilets on the route generally (aside from the excellent Philpin Farm) but some of the waste on the hills is becoming reminiscent of the pig sty that now represents the National 3 Peaks route up Scafell Pike from Wasdale.

Possible Solutions to avoid the ‘Horton’ experience

1. Lengthening or re-routing the 3 Peaks to avoid Horton. To me this will kill the golden goose. The walk length is perfect and an increase will make it unobtainable to the majority. Re-routing will make all the excellent work done by the National Park and associated bodies redundant. I cannot recommend either of these.
2. Using a different start point. There has been some suggestion of making the official start point at Ribblehead. Again I am not enthusiastic. More parking spaces have been made available along the road which is ok but there is a limit to how many people should be encouraged here. Most importantly Ribblehead is an iconic place and the peace and tranquility of the setting would be destroyed. Thousands of people milling around, churning up the terrain and generally ‘being there’ will mean that the down side would outweigh the up side.
3. A more draconian solution would be to limit the number of people allowed to park in to Horton. This would only cause chaos on the surrounding roads and more antisocial behaviour. In addition it would cause a large loss of revenue to local businesses as people move away to different challenges.

The Solution is therefore Horton

The start point of the 3 Peaks Challenge must remain at Horton and the problems managed better than they are at the moment. Horton, (like Malham and Ingleton Falls), is one of those pinch points which could be managed better. Do have a read of my blog Avoiding Malham which tries to address that village’s problems.

I think there are 5 key areas that can help the increasingly unpleasant situation. .

1. *A presence and stewarding of Horton on any given Saturday from May to September. This should probably be undertaken by the National Park* who have a responsibility to their residents, and the management/protection of the national park. Whether they use staff, volunteers or some other organization the Park should make a stand on this. A high visibility presence (yellow jackets/put up stand etc:) of people who know what they are doing would automatically improve behaviour. The staff would also be able to offer advice on facilities and parking as it is the uncertainty that causes lots of the problems.
2. Code of Conduct. This has been produced by the National Park (read it here) but is not widely publicised. The code should be published across all local businesses and particularly in the car park at Horton. It is a job for public relations. Even if the large charities do help most of the volume of walkers are in smaller, private or corporate groups who have no idea the code exists. For some reason the Yorkshire Dales National Park have an aversion to Information Boards.

3. Car Parking. The present car park is not big enough for summer Saturday traffic but critically it does have toilets. The best solution is to work with a local farmer to open fields. This is now happening, particularly the field across the bridge. It is a good example of locals becoming part of the 3 Peaks experience and benefiting.

4. Horton Residents. Many of the local residents are understandably grumpy. However the contrary argument is that most of them have chosen to live there so it is their choice to face the chaotic Saturdays. I am always surprised people buy houses in Horton, imho it really is the least appealing place in the Dales to live. The amount of visitors make it look drab and tacky, the school’s closed, the cafe has closed and the pubs are awful. All in all a poor experience if we want to entice visitors back to the area.

5. Experienced Guides should start at Ribblehead . This would spread the load a little. Contrary to what I have said earlier I always try and start the walk at Ribblehead. The parking is now extended and improved, there is a butty/ice cream van (s) and the pub is good. In addition the tedious slog and steep descent on Whernside is completed early. There is coffee and toilets at Philpin Farm (between Whernside and Ingleborough) which sets you up for the best part of the day (the limestone scenery of Ingleborough).

*At the present time the National Park are reluctant to put a presence on the ground. They are tight on staff and do not feel policing is their business. If a criminal offence is spotted by the public then the police should be called. Confrontation is not the stewards job.

Encouraging a Yorkshire Dales Return

Most hikers complete the 3 Peaks Challenge and never return. If they do they will probably complete the same challenge again. It is such a shame because, as I have tried to demonstrate above, they are receiving a poor Yorkshire Dales experience. There is very little about the crowded, paved paths and depressing experience at Horton that will attract them back.

In addition there is no publicity about other (better) challenges in the area or to how to go about exploring the area further. All we hear from the authorities, social media and tv is the Yorkshire 3 Peaks or a visit to Malham/Ingleton for the less experienced. Its almost as though no-one wants visitors to explore the area further!

Here are 5 of the best (but still testing) alternatives to the 3 Peaks Challenge in the area. They spread the load across the Park, saving old businesses, encouraging new.

1. The Wharfedale 3 Peaks Challenge from Kettlewell . Less busy, more interesting and Kettlewell is an attractive Dales village.
2. The “Dales 30” Challenge . Complete either Individually or as a series of Weekend Breaks all 30 of the mountains within the Yorkshire Dales National Park over 2,000 feet.
3. 3 Peaks in 3 Days. Climb each mountain separately, one a day. I actually have a guided 3 Peaks in 3 Days Mini Break on the best route and hopefully impart some interesting stories and history.
4. Understand the full history of the Yorkshire Dales through a series of 10 day walks. Its a fascinating history and the walks are good too
5. Hike the Bracken Way . Forget the Dales Way, this 7 day Long Distance walk really gets into the guts of the Yorkshire Dales. However it is a tough challenge and there are some long days.

En Route to Calf Top, one of the ‘Dales 30’ and a true Yorkshire Dales experience.

And for those wanting to avoid all challenges (good on them) and explore the Yorkshire Dales, its history and heritage take a Navigation Course as a prelim to explore those more off the track places. If you understand how to plan a walk away correctly, legally, safely, within your limits then venture forth and do it. The satisfaction and enjoyment is immense.

My Conclusions

The 3 Peaks Challenge is simply that, a Challenge. It could be anywhere in the country and has little relevance to the beauty and genuine experience of the Yorkshire Dales. However it is a fine challenge, the length is spot on to test people and there is a great sense of satisfaction on completion. Follow it up with different challenges, move from the busiest areas and gain a proper understanding of the area. The 5 alternative challenges named above are all excellent.

Do the Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge once, never do it twice!

Enjoy your walking

Jonathan