Yorkshire three peaks with no training

No idea, the three tallest in Wales, I don't know what they are 🤣

Well done. It's not a hike that should be underestimated, but I'm LOLing at some of the responses here that make it sound like tackling Everest, Kanchenjunga and Lhotse.

Well done @Sunflowerlily!

8m glad you enjoyed the experience.

Which are the Welsh 3 peaks? Do you mean the Welsh 3000's? That's a seriously hard walk if its that you mean. Not for the faint of heart.

I’m early 50s and did it last year with no training - in a storm! Loved it. Was knackering.

I did this exact walk a few years ago for a work charity event with almost no training. I had a basic level of fitness but was by no means a hill walker. It was tough but totally doable. Recommend buying expensive wool socks - I wore boots I’d never worn before (they were second hand so someone else had broken them in) but I didn’t get any blisters. I did take a massive pack of comped plasters just in case. I think you’ll be fine - with our group they split us into three based on how fast we wanted to go and I went in the middle group and really enjoyed it. Hope you get through ok and I’m sure you’ll be fine!

I’ve never done the route as a whole but I live in the area and have been up all the peaks lots of times and have spent a lot of time running and walking roundabout. They aren’t massively challenging hills, the thing everyone says is difficult is the walking in between and I think that’s mainly psychological. If you stand on the top of Pen y Ghent, Ingleborough looks pretty far away! So if you’ve done longer distance stuff in the past and you can deal with that then it will stand you in really good stead.

I have friend who recently did the Welsh 3 peaks with no training, she does cross fit and is pretty fit, but it has literally broken her, she has lost strength, she is feeling long term unwell at the moment and is regretting having done the whole thing. Please be careful 😔

I did the Yorkshire Three Peaks last year. I do a lot of walking generally but live in a flat part of Yorkshire. I went with two friends I love but hated it, and we got the very best type of weather. If it had rained I wouldn't have completed it. I lost six toenails. Don't believe it when the sign says two miles left, it feels like at least twice that!

I did it when I was 49 with no training other than being generally fairly fit and an occasional hillwalker. We did it in 12h 30 which included quite a long rest at the snack van before Whernside and the cafe between Whernside and Ingleborough. The worst bit was the last leg from the base of Ingleborough to Horton!

You'll be fine! You obviously have a good base level of fitness. I live locally and I've done it with zero prep, as do lots of people. My children's primary school used to offer it as an optional day trip to year 6 students and lots used to do it! My only tip would be that the last slog from Ingleborough seems to last forever, but you'll manage it in well under 12 hours.

For me it would depend...in your 20s and 30s you can probably get away with it, also what time of month it is may affect your enjoyment/how easy it feels. If you do it 100% make sure that between now and then that you sleep as well as you can and eat properly - it does make a difference.

I once walked 26 miles on concrete with no training (hell but survived). The boredom is probably the worst part.

I tried it in my late 20s and it flared up an ongoing weakness in my hip and knee. I was used to walking up to 12 hilly miles on youthful fitness. It was the long, flat section between Pen-y-Ghent and Whernside that did it for me and I remember vowing afterwards that if I did it again, I'd need to take trainers rather than wearing leather walking boots all the way through, and an MP3 player to break up the boredom. Whernside was a slow, painful slog and I decided that I'd rather head back by road than over Ingleborough- ended up hitching a lift in a campervan.

You need a good baseline of fitness, and comfortable, light gear.

You're making me want to do it again, but I've taken up long distance running since, and would wear trail runners these days.

I have done it twice and the most recent time, only a few months ago, I didn’t do any specific training for it. But I (like you it seems?) enjoy long hikes, distance walking, multi day hikes, challenges etc. And so I do those types of things regularly. A 20+ mile walk is quite unusual for me day to day, but I’ll end up doing one every few months, 15 miles ish is more normal for me and I’ll do that a couple of times a month in just normal life, not training for anything. I was fine doing it, could have walked longer, no blisters and went walking again the next day as the area is so pretty!

I’d say being used to challenge conditions and the long slog in your previous achievements- especially the national 3 peaks - you’ll be absolutely fine. Good shoes. There’s usually an ice cream van at the bottom of the Whernside descent and one at Ribblehead. Eat ice creams.

I did it a few weeks ago. A month before it I did a training walk of half the distance and I think the recovery from that helped prep my legs for the big day. I'm fairly active but mostly I do strength training not cardio so I wasn't sure how I'd manage, but I did it and had a good day. It was very challenging weather (soaked to the skin twice) but the group were good people and we all had plenty of laughs.

Take plenty of food - you really need it. My stomach went from full to absolutely growling empty hunger about 3 times during the day - it was crazy the amount I needed to eat.

I struggled to walk for about 3 days after - take a few painkillers / ibuprofens and you'll be fine.

Loads of people do it with no prep and trainers. It makes me wince that they do, but they do. I did it when I was much more of a walker and it's tough. But if you've done marathon running you'll know how to tap into that keep going mindset. Take some compeed for the blisters.

you will be fine. Never trained and lumped my fat arse round ok

Agree the weather makes a big difference! But you won't know that until the day.

I've done all these peaks and did the Yorkshire 3 peaks in 9.5 hours with no specific training (and brand new boots because i forgot mine).

It was fine. It's not a technically challenging walk - just long and monotonous in parts. My 9 year old has done 2 of the 3.

Just take lots of food, blister plasters and a positive attitude. It will be fine!

I did it last year, a group of us, no training as such but all fairly active, was an absolutely fantastic day, loved it!

Not sure you should really. DS did it with no training but he is an army PT instructor. His 20 something police officer gf did it too but was found unconscious in the service station toilet on the way home and kept in hospital overnight with hypothermia and heart arrhythmia. He probably encouraged her to do it too fast but do be careful. She was not at all well.

Also remember that the Yorkshire 3 peaks is a continuous walk taking in the 3 fells (vs the national one where you get in a car/mini-bus in between them and can have a snooze/recover a bit), so you need to be comfortable that you can cover the 24 miles in one go.

I recently went up Whernside and there were lots of charity walkers. They mostly seemed ok-ish, but every now and again on the steps on the way down they would all topple over like bowling pins.
So I would recommend walking poles and to keep away from large groups but tbh you sound like you know what you're doing.

I would say a lot depends on the weather. I haven't done all 3 peaks, but I went up Ingleborough as part of a longer walk and the wind was strong, which made it very hard work - not just on the ascent and at the top but also at at lower levels when we were walking into a headwind. It wasn't helped by driving rain at some points!

I imagine on a nice day, it would be a challenge but a doable one if you have shoes and socks that you are confident won't rub, and have decent underlying fitness. You won't be able to move the next day though, and I imagine stairs will be a challenge for a few days!

If the conditions aren't nice, then I would think twice about it. Bad weather makes it MUCH harder, so without training it's going to be tough.