Two children standing on the summit cairn of Ingleborough in the sun and punching the air — The summit of Ingleborough, the time when energy was still high!

Can the Kids do the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge?

Would you take on the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge with the kids? Well if your answer is a resounding YES or perhaps more of a maybe, then we are living proof that it is entirely possible for kids to do the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge.

BUT. And there’s a big but (and I cannot lie…. find the reference there if you will….) Let’s not pretend that this challenge, which has reduced many a fully grown human to tears is a walk in the park. In fact it is FAR from it! It’s tough, it’s gruelling and it’s not purely about physical strength and stamina, it’s a mental challenge too to dig deep and complete it. As I have said, it is has defeated many grown ups and the decision to allow the kids to have a bash was also not taken lightly!

So, the kids taking on a 24 mile hike with over 1600m of total ascent within 12 hours. How on earth did we get past the finish line in 10 hours and 48 minutes with our family bond still intact?

Well read on for all of our lessons learned, tips on how to organise it, what to pack, what to bring and EVERYTHING else in-between.

Here we go!

child walking at sunrise to Whernside with the Ribblehead viaduct to the left — The epic Ribblehead Viaduct at Sunrise

The story behind the Yorkshire Three Peaks

What is the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge?

Let’s start right back at the beginning, for those who may not know exactly what this challenge is about.

The challenge is to bag three of the Yorkshire Dales’ mountains, Whernside, which is the highest in the whole of Yorkshire standing at 736m, Ingleborough at 723m and Pen y Ghent at 694m, in 24 miles (or the alternative longer route of 29.5 miles… more about that below) within 12 hours.

It is a challenge that can defeat some adults entirely and is certainly one that shouldn’t be underestimated!

When did the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge begin?

Here’s a little potted history of the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge.

Back in 1887, a couple of local teachers decided to challenge themselves to walk all three of the peaks, which are in relatively close proximity to each other. To their credit, they smashed the challenge in 10 hours, setting a pretty great precedent for those who followed in their footsteps. What they probably didn’t expect was that their challenge was going to grow legs and quite literally walk into the 21st century.

In the 1920s and 30s the challenge gained popularity until in present day, it attracts nearly a quarter of a million people to the area a year, which in itself presents quite a challenge both logistically and environmentally!

Originally, the official start point was at the Old Hill Inn in Chapel le Dale, but as the challenge gained popularity it quickly became clear that such a tiny spot couldn’t withstand the number of visitors flocking to the area, so the ‘official’ start point moved.

Back in the 1960’s some 80 years after the challenge was conceived, a more formal time-stamping process was put in place so you could ‘officially’ record your time at the Pen y ghent cafe in Horton in Ribblesdale. But, as the challenge continued to grow in popularity, once again the challenge had to evolve to cope with the numbers attempting it each year.

The time-stamp method and ‘official’ start point is now long outdated and the cafe is closed, with its antique time stamp no longer available for use.

Childs hand on trig point next to the Yorkshire Three Peaks reward patches — The modern day equivalent to the time stamp… OS Maps GPS tracker and a reward patch!

The Modern Day Three Peaks Challenge

Out with the old, in with the new!

Now, you can download yourself a certificate, grab hold of a custom made medal or patch readily available from plenty of stockists AND you can choose your start point (can I hear the audible gasps from those who believe that the challenge has not officially been completed unless you start at Horton?! I think I can…)

Sadly, those traditional views are actually pretty damaging and are certainly outdated.

The popularity of the challenge has meant that all thoughts of an ‘official’ starting point have been consigned to the history books and quite rightly so! The pressure put on the infrastructure of the tiny village of Horton in Ribblesdale, who’s population is only around 500 people is immense and the area was (and to a degree still is) completely swamped by the number of visitors attracted to the area.

It therefore follows that it is absolutely necessary to encourage alternative start points to the challenge! Why? It reduces the pressure on the residents of Horton, it staggers the groups of people attempting the challenge, therefore helping to manage erosion from those stepping off the path to overtake other hikers and it helps to disperse the effect of overcrowding created by thousands of people beginning from the same point at the same time.

Even better, it gives you the flexibility to choose your start point which with the kids, is essential.

So where can you begin the Yorkshire Three Peaks?

The main start points are Horton in Ribblesdale, Ribblehead and Chapel le Dale. The route is exactly the same, no matter where you begin the challenge with the exception of one.

As the popularity of the challenge continues to surge, there has been a fourth and alternative start point added in 2018 to Ingleton, which results in a longer route (29.5 miles) but further relieves the pressure put on Horton in peak season.

Should you choose to take on the challenge with the kids, we found Ribblehead to be the most logical start point and there are more details about that below!

children standing at the trig point of whernside in the sun — Bagging the trig at Whernside before 8am!

Why did the kids decide to do the challenge?

Oh what a question! Over on our Facebook page there was some suggestion that me, in my role of the utterly evil parent forced the kids out into the awful fresh air and dragged them kicking and screaming around the challenge against their will.

Sorry, hate to disappoint but the reality is far from it!

We have been climbing the individual mountains comprising the three peaks for years now, my eldest was only 6 when she first conquered Whernside and since that point, they have both climbed them all multiple times. The concept of doing the Y3P challenge has popped up many a time in conversation and my youngest was adamant he was going to do it all at age 7!

We toyed with the idea of doing them all across a weekend for a while, but having completed the challenge myself last year I thought upon completion that it was definitely within their capability! So when ‘Doing the Yorkshire Three Peaks’ popped up as one of the kids’ New Year’s Resolutions this year and with the other resolution being ‘become a professional footballer’…. I thought I’d better deliver on at least one!

So believe it or not (and believe me, I’m as stunned as you are) this was the kids’ idea. I just came in to plan and deliver a family friendly and safe way to do it!

Child walking along the summit path with Ingleborough in the background — Walking along the summit path of Whernside, with Ingleborough in the distance

What we did… The Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge with Kids

Now I do a lot of talking on this ‘ole blog and so I say this a lot! Please remember that this is OUR experience of the challenge. I am neither a personal trainer nor a nutritionist, so I will tell you what we did and would encourage you to seek further advice in those areas should you need to.

What I am is a trained Hill and Moorland Leader, so I CAN do navigation and I am a Yorkshire Dales ultra nerd. So at a push, maybe you can consider me a ‘sort of’ expert in those!

On the Day: The Best Laid Plans

This was a challenge that was extremely well planned (check me out being all boastful!) But in all seriousness, it had to be. I am only too aware of the extent of the challenge so every tiny little detail was thought about, tweaked and then thought about some more!

The first thing we did was set aside a series of weekends to be kept free to allow us to jump onto a weather window, so we didn’t give ourselves a set date therefore allowing us to avoid any rubbish weather. In terms of preparation, we were ready for the earliest date and then if we had to push it on, we would have done.

As it turned out, we were able to head out on our earliest opportunity thanks to the ridiculously settled Spring of 2025 (not complaining!)

The time of year that’s best to do the challenge is after the clocks go forwards up until around September. You will need 12 hours at the very least in terms of daylight, unless you are happy navigating in the dark and if that’s the case, I strongly suggest you start off early in the dark, when the light situation is only ever going to improve.

We had a chunky window of sunlight to play around with, around 14 hours plus, which meant we had a decent cushion of daylight to ensure we competed the challenge in light.

Where did we begin the challenge?

We planned to set off at or just after sunrise which was 6am from Ribblehead.

There are SO many reasons why we opted to begin at Ribblehead, not least to alleviate any overcrowding at Horton, but also because I really hate the Three Peaks route up Whernside! When I climb the highest of the Yorkshire Three Peaks, I will always do it in the opposite direction, because it’s just better! I won’t go into detail about exactly why, you can find that out over on our Whernside page!

But in my head, I want to get Whernside out of the way. Also, it means you can end with ice cream and The Station Inn, which has one of the best beer gardens in the Yorkshire Dales!

Guys. I KNOW my priorities!

But in reality, this start point offered convenient get out points if the worst came to the worst which was pretty important when completing it with the kids! (More about that below)

What order did you do the Three Peaks in? What is the route?

We took on Whernside first, followed by Ingleborough and then last up, my absolute favourite Pen y ghent. This meant we tackled the highest, followed by the second highest and then the smallest (but mightiest) of them all Pen y ghent.

As a rough guide, you begin bright eyed and bushy tailed at the Ribblehead viaduct. There’s a huge amount of parking here, so it’s a great alternative to Horton. After around 4 miles, you have already bagged the biggest of the three, which in terms of head-space, puts you in a good place.

Next up is Ingleborough, which is a another 5ish miles ahead of you and after 9 miles plus, you’ll have bagged two of the biggest, leaving the smallest to go. Having bagged two in such a short space of time a massive boost, but the challenge from this point is the distance, it’s far from over!

Bagging Pen y ghent last, leaves you with a long walk along relatively flat terrain, which with super tired legs, is a bonus. It is also a more exciting ascent than the rest, although it does leave the scramble to the last peak, which might be a consideration for some as your legs will be tired by this point.

The full route is very well signposted, but you can grab a link to our tracked OS Maps route at the bottom of the blog. YOU WILL NEED A MAP. Don’t underestimate this challenge. (Affiliate Link)

Navigation wise, whilst it’s well signposted, when the cloud comes down, some of the tops, in particular Ingleborough can be very disorientating. So take a map, backed up with the OS map to help if you need it and really research the route well before you set off.

The scramble to the summit of Ingleborough — Hiking up the steep path to the summit Ingleborough

FAQs and Top Tips for hiking the Yorkshire Three Peaks with the kids

Here, you’ll find all of the stuff we learned along the way, what we ate, how much water we brought, what the kids carried and a full packing list.

You’ll also find the answers to some of the questions that have popped up on our social media pages.

If you have a question I’ve not covered, do feel free to add it to the comments section!

What happens if the kids can’t do the whole challenge?

This is the big question and I had always planned for the worst case scenario. The distance from the start point at Ribblehead to Horton is roughly 12 miles and by that point two peaks have been bagged. In itself, that’s a pretty awesome achievement for the kids.

At Horton, there is a train station so if the worst comes to the worst, you can hop onto train back to Ribblehead having bagged the two biggest peaks in the Yorkshire Dales and having tackled roughly half the distance. Have a check of the train times before you start off, and when planning have an idea of how long it will take you to get to this point, then have those train times as a back up.

The second ‘escape route’ came after Pen y ghent. So if the kids made it to the top of Pen y ghent but couldn’t go any further, there was an escape route back to Horton, which cuts the distance short, but still has all the peaks bagged in one day. The train can then be caught back to Ribblehead. As before, have a rough idea of what time you will hit the end of the short cut, and make sure the train times suit.

Whilst you can certainly start at Horton with a get out point of Ribblehead station should you need to cut it short, what you will have achieved is a really long walk up Pen y ghent which doesn’t quite hold the same weight when it comes to the ‘challenge’ aspect. It’s another reason why we opted for Ribblehead.

Other alternatives to completing the full challenge is to bag all the three peaks separately on different days, or to make it a weekend challenge and find an overnight spot to stay nearby.

child standing at the trig point of Ingleborough — Standing at the trig point of Ingleborugh

Did you do any training?

This is a big question isn’t it? I am not a member of a gym nor do I have a strict exercise routine, but we are all fit and regularly up on the top of a mountain.

In the months running up to this challenge, we had endeavoured to climb all of the Yorkshire Dales mountains within a year and so had tackled some pretty long walks to complete that particular challenge. As well as that, we were out almost every weekend walking decent length walks as that’s simply part of our lifestyle!

In the weeks before the challenge we’d climbed Ingleborough from Clapham and also Helvellyn and in the month before the challenge, the kids had tackled four Dales mountains across two days in around 19 miles. But they hadn’t attempted the height or distance required in the challenge in full before it. In an ideal world you might want to try and tackle two of the peaks, perhaps Ingleborough and Pen y Ghent in a day before doing the full challenge, but certainly regular mountain walking worked for us.

The day before the challenge we only went on an easy going flat walk to keep active, but so as not to wear anybody out before the main event.

That said, we are fit and it is essential that you are fit to take on this challenge, no matter what your age is.

What did you eat?

I did both the Ullswater Way and the Yorkshire Three Peaks last year with grown up company and if there was anything I’d learned it was…. don’t sit down! At least, don’t sit down for long. I KNOW! That’s HUGE ask!

I made the mistake of sitting down for a full on picnic lunch on the Ullswater Way (that’s a similar challenge to this in terms of distance, but just not as much ascent) and found it VERY hard to get going again.

So I say pack small portions of food and graze all the way through. Screw meal times, food is fuel! Sugar and carbs! We packed chicken and turkey filled wraps, savoury muffins, nuts, dried fruit and cereal bars, but also an absolute TON of sweet treats like biscuits (Jaffa cake anybody…?) and of course the trusty Haribo, which will 100% get you through the last of this challenge, and give you a boost before tackling a big old climb!

On our Instagram page, we were asked…

What snacks kept you going?

Well aside from the snacks and food outlined above, I also brought a surprise treat for the top of each mountain. Because it was Easter when we did this challenge, we popped Easter eggs at the top of each one! It was a surprise and it was a sugary sweet quick release energy boost after completing each one!

How much drink did you carry?

Drinks wise, we carried two bottles of sugary drinks, as well as 2 litres of water each. The kids carried two sugary drinks and a 1.5l water bladder. There were opportunities to refill at Horton if required, another reason for it being a great half way point!

Child standing at the trig of Pen y ghent with a reward patch — Through gritted teeth. The final summit, Pen y ghent.

What about the toilet situation?!

Wild wee fan or not, when it comes to kids, we know that they can be a little unpredictable! Doing the challenge from Ribblehead meant that we could stop off at Horton public toilets before we set off, there were the Philpin campsite toilets just before the ascent to Ingleborough (honesty box for Y3Pers, remember to take coins to support this convenience!) Horton toilets were there again at the half way point, and then the Station Inn was at the finish line.

It works! That said, if you get caught short, take a nappy bag and tissues. Do NOt just drop your tissues, it’s GROSS! And for a number two, remember to dig and bury!

What did you pack in the kids’ rucksacks?

The kids both have 18 litre Deuter rucksacks (highly recommend, if you’re after a rucksack upgrade) and are used to carrying them, something that I think is important before taking on a challenge like this!

They carried their own water, sugary drinks, sweet snacks, waterproof layers and spare clothes (see the packing list for more!)

What did the kids wear on their feet?

100% this is NOT the challenge to start with a brand new pair of boots. The kids have a good quality pair of walking boots, with good grip and they were well walked in before the challenge. A comfy pair of hiking socks is a must, I’ve fallen foul of not wearing my favs before and ended up with blisters on the soles of my feet!

I also applied anti blister balm to chafing points on their feet before setting off to prevent rubbing. Compeed do a good version of this. I applied it to heels and between the toes. Both kids managed to get away blister free with only a minor niggle from one on the ball of one of her feet.

And worst case? Don’t forget your blister plasters a simple plaster will rub straight off after a few hundred metres and blisters HURT. You don’t want to deal with those at any point.

Child walking along a path with mountains in the background and blue skies — The return route to Ribblehead from Pen y ghent (Ingleborough in the background showing just how far you’ve walked!)

Be honest, how much moaning was there?

This was all the kids idea (at least, that’s what my story is, and I’m sticking to it!)

I joke, but in reality it would have been a complete non starter if the kids hadn’t been fully on board. They were aware that there was an option to cut the walk short if they wanted, but if you’d have heard their response when I mentioned that to them the day before the challenge? Well, anything other than the whole blummin’ thing was not an option! They were game, they were excited and they importantly wanted to do it.

But man alive, if you’ve ever attempted it then you’ll know how blummin’ hard it is towards the end! And no matter how much I prepared them for the final straight there’s nothing that will prepare you for it until you've actually lived it. This is a hard challenge and there’s no doubting it!

So of course. There. Was. Moaning.

From me, from the kids, from Dad. By the time we came to the last 3 miles we were all knackered! The kids were tired from an extra early start and then the not knowing exactly where the end point was and how 3 miles feels after doind 21 (despite all my showing them the map) it was a digging deep moment in the last few miles.

And my word, they DUG DEEP.

Child sitting tired by dry stone wall with ingleborough mountain in the background — The last few miles. Pretty flat, but the hardest by miles!

What were the toughest moments?

Surprisingly for 80% of the walk it was NOT the motivation.

The kids set the pace for the first two peaks, and smashed my previous time by 40 minutes by the time we hit Ingleborough. The wall arrives roughly at the bottom of the ascent to Pen y ghent. BUT motivation levels and humour was still high at this point! We were in it together, we all hurt, we upped the snack game and pulled out the surprise reward patches for the summit of Pen y ghent, just in case we didn’t make the full slog back to Ribblehead.

When the proverbial poop hit the fan was about 4 miles from the end. THAT was when ALL the parenting motivational hacks were pulled out the bag, which admittedly is not all that easy when you are digging deep yourself to get to that end point!

We had rubbish jokes, we had songs, we had help from ALL The ‘ickle ambs’ who provided excellent entertainment along the home straight, we had the point that I got stuck on a stile because my leg and my butt got wedged (not easy to get out of THAT when your legs are 21 miles in) the kids smashed through a sharer bag of Haribo alone on that last stretch. We even had tears at the sign of 3 miles to go… which I’ll say is the LONGEST three miles in the history of humankind.

Bottom line. The last parts are tough. Be prepared with your arsenal of walking distractions. Games, jokes, snacks. Just putting one foot in front of the other is hard enough at this point, despite having to put on your entertainers hat too!

What were your timings for each peak?

We set off from Ribblehead at 06.20am and reached the top of Whernside at 07.52am, which was well ahead of the scheduled timings I’d put down, that was an hour and 32 minutes into the challenge.

We hit Chapel le Dale at 09.00am which is the start of the ascent of Ingleborough. The top of Ingleborough was reached by 10.18am just shy of 4 hours into the challenge.

We hit the first of the two long slogs after summiting Ingleborough and we arrived at the train station in Horton in Ribblesdale by 12.08pm, just short of 6 hours into the challenge.

From Horton, we reached Pen y ghent by 13.52pm. At this point we were nearing 8 hours into the challenge and then about to begin the long walk back to Ribblehead.

We reached the three peaks signpost at Ribblehead at 17.08pm, meaning that the whole challenge had taken 10 hours and 48 minutes in total!

Standing in front of the Ribblehead viaduct two kids holding up completion badges for the three peaks challenge — Three Peaks? Completed it mate. And one of these kids went on to do an Easter trail around the pub beer garden!

Which of the Peaks was the Kids’ Favourite?

Normally, the answer would be Pen y ghent for both, but when I asked, one has opted for Whernside (the first) because it felt like it was the shortest and made them feel good to get it done so fast. The other decided that Pen y ghent was still their fav because it was the last one and the challenge was almost done!

So there you have the kids opinions! I was honestly surprised that Pen y ghent still featured in their favs as part of the challenge because it was HARD!

Would you take on the challenge again?

In all honesty…. YES. I fully expect we will do it again in the future, but first, we’ll tackle something new. The question is, what should that be?!

What was your favourite view?

I can categorically state that it was NOT the view of Ribblehead on the last 6 mile stretch of the walk, as it NEVER GETS ANY CLOSER!

The views from the tops of all three of the Y3P are incredible. On a clear day, you can see as far as Scotland, the Lake District, The Howgills, Pendle Hill and the North Pennines. Utter beauty. But I reckon one of the best views is from the descent from Whernside, where Ingleborough lies ahead with Pen y ghent in the distance. I think that’s the point, when you really begin to appreciate the distance involved in the challenge!

Packing and Kit List

Here’s exactly what we took on our Y3P adventure and to be honest, most of this features in our regular mountain kit anyway! So here we go. I’ll admit that it feels a lot, but when you hear the reasons, maybe you’ll understand why!

Clothing: Both the kids (and us) wore and brought:

Durable walking trousers which are showerproof.

Base layer on top.

A fleece mid layer.

A waterproof outer layer (it’s Yorkshire, wall to wall blue skies means NOTHING, rain is always on the cards no matter what!)

A thicker down layer in the bag (in the end, only one of the kids needed it, but the temp changes can be biting on top of a big ‘ole mountain!)

Good used walking socks. Pick your comfiest, because they’re the best and save new for another day.

Gloves. They were actually needed on the top!

Beanies and sunhats. Because we needed beanies to begin with, then sunhats for the rest!

Sunglasses. BECAUSE IT WAS SUNNY! And they’re the least used part of our kit…. like I say. Yorkshire.

What else is in the bag?

I’ve mentioned snacks and food in more detail above so I won’t go into that again!

First Aid Kit.

A must on all occasions and I’m not just talking a good range of plaster sizes! Being Hill & Moorland leader trained, I know the essential nature of a decent first aid kit. Out on the hills, the most frequent type of injuries are lower limb and upper limb injuries. Essentially slips and trips.

Oh that’s nothing I hear you say! Well let’s have a quick think. At best, you’re treating a blister, a graze, a niggling ache or a pain, which will have no impact on the success of the challenge.

At worst, you could slip, fall and not be able to limp off the mountain. If you’re waiting for Mountain Rescue, you can be waiting for near on 2 hours or more (less if you’re lucky, more if you aren’t) so with that in mind….

Here’s what’s in our first aid kit.

Basic Outdoor first aid equipment: plasters, antiseptic, wound wash, sterile wipes, a range of dressings, a kalico triangular bandage for slings, a tick removal tool, scissors, pain killers (both adult and child suitable) and blister plasters. We also carry epipens, inhalers and antihistamine for the kids’ allergies and asthma. Worth a mention.

Then I will ALWAYS carry

An emergency bivvy bag, which is a super compact sleeping bag style emergency blanket BUT I also carry a foil blanket too, because with all the layers on, stuffing an emergency blanket around a person waiting for help underneath the coat, will keep them warmer. It traps heat from the inside.

If you’re sat still waiting for the emergency services, you WILL get cold. Even in July. So this is easy, cheap and is so small it would fit inside a pocket of your trousers.

I also always carry an emergency shelter and NOT just for picnic purposes (the kids love that!) It will trap body heat and again, stave off hypothermia in the event you are stranded on the top of a mountain.

Other stuff that’s important.

Spare clothes, walking wet is never fun , let alone for 24miles.

A headtorch even in Summer because you just never know what might happen

A power bank for my phone. I can read a map, I prefer them to phones, but I take like a BILLION pictures and I use my OS App to track my routes. Using a map app uses battery power. Using a map app for 24 miles AND taking pictures uses a LOT of battery power. You will run out. Take a power bank.

And weird random stuff. Like wipes, tissues, nappy bags and a pen. You know… for writing a novel whilst I’m up there. WHAT?! I said I was telling you EXACTLY what was in my bag! Oh and also duct take and a clothes peg. True facts.

two children with arms in the air with Whernside in the background — Just about enough energy to lift their arms!

And here’s the OS Maps route to the Yorkshire Three Peaks!

You can find the link to the Yorkshire Three Peaks Walk on the OS Maps app too!

Remember to back up your GPS with a paper map!

(Image copyright of Ordnance Survey)

Ordnance survey map image of yorkshire three peaks route — Ordnance Survey Map

And that’s everything we know about doing the Yorkshire Three Peaks with the Kids

Unless I forgot something. In which case, ask me in the comments!

A challenge we’ll remember forever (even the kids…. hopefully, I know what they’re like!)

Doing the Yorkshire Three Peaks with Kids

Can the Kids do the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge?