This was quite a piece of work, the National Three Peaks Challenge taken over three consecutive days.
I had been hired by Greenrock, who had been contracted by Cheltenham College, and on Monday 27th June we gathered in the grounds of the college: me, three regular members of the Greenrock team, their managing director Joe Mearns, three members of staff of the college, and the youngsters whom we were looking after. Also, there were three minibuses, everyone's kit, and a pile of drinking water and snacks.
When everyone and everything was safely on board, we trundled out of the college grounds and headed off to our first destination, the car-park at Pen-y-Pas. A few hours later we were all gathered again, this time eager to get going up the PYG Track. I was at the back and ended up looking after one of the teachers, who was struggling. I have no doubt that she could have made it up and down under other circumstances, but the purpose of the event was to get the youngsters up and down, so reluctantly, we parted ways: she headed back to the minibuses, and I strode out to catch up with the group.
We made good time to the top, spent a few minutes there, then a few minutes in the café, then made a swift descent to Pen-y-Pas, then drove to the youth hostel in Caernarfon, where a hearty meal was waiting for us.
The weather had been summery most of the way, but chilly and windy at the top, as usual.
The next day we drove to the car park at the head of Wastwater, and made a swift ascent and descent of Scafell Pike, and we were treated to some good views despite visibility not being particualy generous. Afterwards, we ate in the pub near the YHA youth hostel -- the food was delicious and in generous quantities.
On the third day we set out early on the long haul to the SYHA youth hostel in Glen Nevis. On the previous two days I had found switching from driving a minibus for a few hours to walking up a mountain a difficult transition, which I had assumed was due to poor hydration while driving, so this time I made sure I was well hydrated. Despite this precaution, I found going up Ben Nevis a devil of a slog.
Conditions were fair, and it was the first time I had been on the mountain without there being a snow cap on the summit plateau, and it was interesting to see the beaten footpaths on the plateau. We stayed a few minutes next to the trig point for group photographs, then headed back down. We spread out rather on the descent, but once we had descended below the orographic clouds that shrouded the top of the mountain, there was no pressing reason to keep everyone in a tight bunch.
That evening, Joe treated his crew and me to a hearty nosh-up in a pub in Fort William. I could have had vegetarian haggis, but I needed a pizza, so that is what I had.
The day after, we drove all the way back to Cheltenham. For once, I did not do any driving: I was the passenger in Jo's rather agreeable gran tourismo estate car. We said out goodbyes in the college grounds, then I made my way to stay the night with my brother and his family in Alcester.
On each of the three days' walks I had struggled, more so as the event went on: it was as if my physical fitness had suddenly declined. While this might be what had happened, it seems to me that driving for several hours and then going almost immediately to mountain walking is just not a transition I can do well. Unfortunately, this piece of work was the first on which such a transition was called for: previously, I had done the long-distance driving the day before, then driven either not at all or only a few miles on the day of the hike. I will know for next time.
My thanks to Jo for hiring me, and my thanks to the three teachers of the college for their support and companionship.
