A 3 Peaks Fundraising Challenge
Sam Barraclough, Adam Smith & James Gregory, 18 year olds from Leeds
A few months back, my mates and I completed Pen-y-ghent, the first of the three Yorkshire Three Peaks. We got to the bottom and went for a pint in the local pub, and this exact moment was where the idea of doing all three was birthed.
On Thursday the 22nd of August at about 7pm, myself and two friends set off to Horton in Ribblesdale where our adventure would begin. We had a little break at Morrisons on the way to pick up some burgers, sausages and koftes for a big dinner the night before - they were amazing (I would definitely recommend!) - and set our alarms for 5:30am the following morning.
After a truly horrendous night's sleep, we woke up with waterlogged tents, wet sleeping bags and we were being blown all over - Storm Lillian really wanted to make the day a challenge for us. This didn’t put us off however. We got up, packed our bags and started on the ascent.
Pen-y-ghent was a wild experience as Storm Lillian was in full force. The 65mph gusts and bullet-like rain were like nothing else. However, we powered through and finished it in around 2 hours - next was the 11.5 mile walk to Whernside.
Just as we spotted the Ribbleshead Viaduct, the real star of the show turned up...
Adam’s Grandad was stood at the end of the path up towards the viaduct like he was out of a movie - holding three cheese and tomato baguettes, bars of Cadbury's Dairy Milk, energy drinks and freshly baked muffins. This was the first time I’d ever physically felt food give me energy - it got us up Whernside that’s for sure!
After completing Whernside, walking over to Ingleborough was a very special moment for
myself - we met the lovely Geoff and his wife.
As the three of us were probably looking a little bit weathered, Geoff, who was in his 70s, gave me a gentle nudge and told me he’d climbed the mountain hundreds of times before in his youth - and that we’d smash it. From here we got chatting - at which point his wife noticed our EGFR+UK tops. I briefly told them about the charity which I could see brought a tear to her eye. This moment itself was all the motivation we needed to get up Ingleborough.
With all three climbs completed, the final time as we walked through the gate to the campsite was 10 hours and 8 minutes.... and all it took was another 3 minutes 30 seconds for us to get into the pub.
The challenge was an absolutely incredible experience, that somehow managed to bring three lads who had been best mates for years closer. I’d like to end by saying thank you to everyone who donated, raised awareness and sent kind messages of support. We are so proud that we managed to raised just over £2000 (with gift aid) for such an incredible cause.
Sam Barraclough, EGFR+ UK friend and supporter