This post marks an important blogging milestone for me…it’s number 200! And in my head, it became a bit of a bigger thing than it actually is. I felt I needed to write something deep and meaningful. But I felt stuck. I’ve had enough of being stuck in that rut, so here we are, back at it! And what better way to make a comeback than to fill you in on my 3 Peaks Challenge adventure.

Training for the 3 Peaks has certainly kept me busy over the last few months. And back at the beginning of September, the challenge finally arrived.

What is The 3 Peaks Challenge?

After months of training, I finally found myself sitting in a hotel room in Fort William.
⁠
Earlier that day, I met the rest of the group I would be hiking with at Chester Train Station. I had connected with some of them on Instagram before the trip, so it was great to finally meet them. We were all taking part in the challenge to raise money for the mental health charity Mind. After making our own way to Chester, we waited for our mini-buses to arrive. They would be taking us to Fort William. We were to spend the night at a hotel in Fort William before our challenge officially started the next day.

After what seemed an age, 3 mini-buses arrived to take us north to Scotland. Each mini bus was accompanied by a guide from Charity Challenge. They would be leading the trek. And making sure we made it up and down the 3 Peaks in one piece!

The aim of the challenge is to conquer Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in 24 hours or less. There had been A LOT of emphasis prior to the trip from Charity Challenge and Mind, on safety over time. So much so, I had barely given the 24-hour factor a thought. Even our guide, who had led 17 trips so far this year, said that only 3 of his groups had completed it in 24 hours! It felt like the pressure was off.

We would however, still have to manage our time carefully. Our mini-bus drivers were required to rest, and we would be meeting new drivers between Scafell and Snowdon. And the organisers didn’t want us to keep them waiting.

Fort William, Scotland

Once in Fort William, it was straight to the hotel lounge for our welcome meeting. We were briefed on:

• What we needed to carry in our day bags. They would be coming up to the summit of each peak with us. Everything else would stay on the mini-bus.
• How much water to take for each summit. We were able to fill up before the start of each peak.
• And reminded about the times we needed to be back at the mini-bus ready to head to our next destination.

It was at this point, they informed us there may not be enough time for everyone to reach the summits. If the guides thought anyone was falling behind, they would be told to turn back before reaching the summit!

The challenge was also taking place on the hottest weekend of the year. Nothing like a bit of extra pressure! Oh, and there was a weather warning out for thunderstorms. Lightning was being predicted for Sunday morning, just as we would be arriving in Snowdonia. This meant summiting Snowdon was at this stage, looking risky…because in a lightning storm, they wouldn’t let us hike.

After the welcome meeting, it was time to head to our rooms. With my alarm set for 5am, I had just enough time to re-pack my bag before climbing into bed.

Peak 1 – Ben Nevis, Scotland

After a rubbish night’s sleep, thanks to the heat (air con and fans aren’t really a thing in Scotland!), and thin walls (I won’t describe what I heard during the night, but think bodily functions rather than wild sex!), it was time to grab a quick breakfast before heading to our mini-buses.

Just after 6am, we were on the road. It was time to hike the tallest mountain in the UK, standing at 1,344m.

The mood was good, and there was just enough time for a quick team photo, before we started our ascent.

I was absolutely adamant I wasn’t going to be turned back for being too slow. So, in true Becky fashion, I set off far too quickly. After a while, I stopped to catch my breath, and in doing so, I found myself slipping down the pack. There was no way I could keep going at that pace. ⁠
⁠
I started to feel nauseous, something that would plague my adventure.
⁠
Despite the nausea, the views were incredible. But there wasn’t time to get snappy happy. We had to summit and get back to the minibus by lunchtime!⁠
⁠
The pressure was well and truly on!⁠

⁠Ben Nevis ✅

Once we reached the summit, there was just enough time for a quick selfie and a group photo, before we started to make our descent. ⁠
⁠
My nausea had now subsided and I got off to a flying start again as we began our descent. But the weather had begun to close in, and the paths had become slippy. ⁠ My knees were starting to hurt, and every time I slipped, my knees were buckling beneath me.⁠ I found myself not just slipping in the wet, but slipping back down the pack.
⁠
By the time I reached the mini-bus, my ego was as bruised as my knees!⁠
⁠
I was hungry, tired and frustrated, despite having just summited the highest mountain in the UK.⁠

Depending on how quickly it had taken each of us to summit and descend Ben Nevis, we were split up into mini-buses based on our speed. I found myself on what had been deemed ‘the slow bus’, which bruised my ego just a little bit more…
⁠
It had taken so long for our group to get up and down Ben Nevis, reaching the summit of our second peak, Scafell Pike was now in serious doubt.⁠

Peak 2 – Scafell Pike, England

After a 6-hour drive from the highlands of Scotland to the Lake District, it was time to get ready for Scafell Pike (978m).

In all honesty, Scafell was the one I wanted badly. Having camped just down the road a good few years before, it had captivated me even then.

It’s also famous for having one of the best views in Britain from its summit. However, there would be no views to enjoy on this hike, as we would be walking the entire route in the dark.

Time was against us from the start. Even on arrival, we knew it was unlikely we would make it to the summit because we were already behind schedule.

Ben Nevis had taken its toll on a few people in our group, so we already had a reduced number getting ready to make their way towards the summit.

Within minutes of the start, a couple of people from the group decided to turn back.

The end of my challenge?

And right from the off, I was attacked by nausea again. But this time it was chronic. And it was getting worse the further I went.

Remembering the electrolytes I was carrying with me, I took one, but it was too late. I tried to focus on putting one foot in front of the other, but with the steepest part of the route to come, I knew in my heart of hearts that I couldn’t continue.

I was devastated. There were tears. Lots of them. But there was also a sense of relief because I knew I was making the right decision.

So often in the past, I would’ve carried on to prove a point. But I knew if I continued, I was just going to make myself feel even more ill, or even worse, sustain an injury, which would keep me from completing the rest of the challenge.

No sooner had I and a couple of others returned to the mini-bus than we heard over the radio that the rest of our group had also turned around and were making their way back. One of the other girls in our group had passed out twice, and with the summit unlikely, it was deemed best to get off the mountain.

Failing to reach the summit of Scafell has been a difficult pill to swallow over the last few weeks, and if I’m honest it’s something that I’m still processing.

But…I’m already planning to head back to Scafell in the Spring. And this time, I very much hope to reach the top in broad daylight to enjoy those beautiful views from the summit.

Peak 3 – Snowdon, Wales

A huge bonus of not having made it to the summit of Scafell Pike meant that we were able to get a head start as we made the journey to the final peak of the challenge.
⁠
Although our guide was keeping a close eye on the thunderstorms circling Snowdon, it looked increasingly promising that we would have a decent window to make it to the summit before the weather closed in. ⁠
⁠
Thankfully, my nausea had subsided by the time we reached the drop-off point, and I felt ready to go. ⁠
⁠
I’ve hiked Snowdon (1,085m) a few times, but I’d never hiked the Pyg track, which was the route we would be taking this time. ⁠
⁠
We were ready to start walking by 4am, so set off with our head torches on.

It wouldn’t be long until sunrise, however, and with clear skies, it looked like we would be in for quite a treat!⁠
⁠
I made sure to take it easy, and with time now on our side, even our guide took it at a slower pace. ⁠
⁠
Although Snowdon is technically the easier of the 3 peaks, we still had to clamber our way over some pretty big boulders! But I loved every single minute of it.
⁠
Knowing that this was our final peak, and being able to watch the sunrise as we made our ascent, there was a lovely buzz within our group.⁠

Snowdon ✅

We finally made it to the summit just before 8am.
⁠
Unlike the other peaks, thankfully there was plenty of time to take some photos on the summit of Snowdown. ⁠

⁠
However, as we were standing on the summit, the lightning alerts reappeared on our guide’s phone, and it was time to make our way down the Llanberis path to locate our mini-bus before making the final journey back to Chester. ⁠
⁠
Although I was still feeling pretty gutted not to have made it to the summit of Scafell Pike, I wouldn’t have missed that sunrise for the world.

The 3 Peaks Challenge is single-handedly one of the most physically demanding things I’ve ever done. It broke my heart not to have summited all 3 Peaks, but we still raised a phenomenal amount of money for charity,

Tell me, have you ever taken part in The 3 Peaks Challenge, or something similar?