Climbing The British Three Peaks in the Dark

Q. We have a party of five attempting British 3 peaks in a couple of weekends. Obviously with the days becoming shorter we will need to walk one of the mountains in darkness. I am interested to know if for any reason, any of the three mountains are not permitted to be walked at night?

Many thanks

Darren Radford, Yeovil

A. Well, if you are going to complete the challenge in 24 hours, your will have to climb at least one of the mountains in the dark. And because Scafell Pike lies between Ben Nevis and Snowdon - and because climbing Scafell Pike is the shortest walk with the lowest ascent of the three - most people choose to do the climb up Scafell Pike in the dark.

There is no law preventing you from doing this - but the locals in the Wasdale area are starting to get mighty sick and tired of people tearing through their villages in the dead of night every weekend, banging car doors, playing loud music and generally being thoroughly inconsiderate and obnoxious.

I have heard tell that on occasions when it all gets a bit too much all access routes to Wasdale get mysteriously blocked by abandoned tractors and assorted farm machinery!

So, while there is nothing to prevent you from climbing mountains in the dark - a little respect for the people who live there is an absolute must.

There isn't a single walk that includes the highest points in England (Scafell Pike), Scotland (Ben Nevis) and Wales (Snowdon) because the distance between each mountain is too great. (Ben Nevis to Scafell Pike is some 300km (188 miles) and Scafell Pike to Snowdon is another 240km (150 miles) or so!).

So you can either do all three mountains as a one day challenge - i.e. climbing all three mountains within a single 24 hour period by driving between each mountain and running up and down. This is of course quite tiring and you'll be doing at least one of them in the dark!

Alternatively, you can walk to all three summits as three separate walks on three separate days.

If you want to go for the 24 hour challenge option - then you will need to follow the shortest, straight-up and down route (and no sneaking a peek at the scenery):

For Ben Nevis (Scotland) walk: h100 Ben Nevis via The Tourist Path from Achintee, Fort William

For Scafell Pike (England) walk: c111 Scafell Pike from Wasdale Head, Wast Water

For Snowdon (Wales) walk: gw100 Mount Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) from Pen-y-Pass

If you prefer to climb these three mountains at a more leisurely pace (and in the daylight) then any one of the following routes would suit your purposes.

Ben Nevis (Scotland): Walks

h100 Ben Nevis via The Tourist Path from Achintee, Fort William

h137 Ben Nevis and Carn Mor Dearg from Achintee, Fort William

h154 Ben Nevis and Carn Mor Dearg from The Nevis Range Mountain Gondola

Scafell Pike (England): Walks

c110 The Eskdale Skyline from Wha House Farm, Eskdale

c111 Scafell Pike from Wasdale Head, Wast Water

c166 The Scafell Masiff from Wha House Farm, Eskdale

c172 Scafell Pike via The Corridor Route from Wasdale Head, Wast Water

c194 Scafell Pike from The Old Dungeon Ghyll, Great Langdale

c197 Lingmell and Scafell Pike from Wasdale Head, Wast Water

c215 Scafell Pike from Seathwaite (Borrowdale)

c233 Sca Fell and Scafell Pike from Wasdale Head, Wast Water

c271 The Scafell Massif from Wasdale Head, Wast Water

c370 Scafell Pike from Seathwaite (Borrowdale)

c416 Scafell Pike from The Old Dungeon Ghyll, Great Langdale

c453 The Scafell Mountains from Wasdale Head, Wast Water

c454 Scafell Pike via The Corridor Route from Seathwaite (Borrowdale)

Snowdon (Wales): Walks

gw100 Mount Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) from Pen-y-Pass

gw105 Snowdon via The Watkin Path from Nantgwynant

gw107 Snowdon and Yr Aran from Rhyd-Ddu

gw110 Snowdon via The Snowdon Ranger Path

gw117 Snowdon and Yr Aran via The Watkin Path from Bathania, Nantgwynant

gw126 Snowdon via The Llanberis Path

gw134 Mount Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) avoiding Crib Goch from Pen-y-Pass

gw136 The Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) Horseshoe from Pen-y-Pass

gw140 Snowdon via The Rhyd-Ddu Path

gw158 Garnedd Ugain, Snowdon, Moel Cynghorion, Foel Gron and Moel Eilio from Llanberis

gw186 Garnedd Ugain, Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) & Moel Cynghorion from Llanberis

gw198 The Welsh 3000's (Snowdon Area) from Pen-y-Pass

NB. All the above walk routes have downloadable GPS Waypoint files.

NNB. The Carn Mor Dearg Arete (Ben Nevis) and Crib Goch (Snowdon) are narrow edges with steep drops on both sides. They are not for the faint hearted and not recommended at all in thick weather.

Also see The Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge Walk & The Three Peaks of Wales

Hope this helps

Mike (Editor)

A. Hi Neil,

Having recently completed the Three Peaks (one a day over three days) I would agree with the recommendation of following the walks listed above.

I do not know if you have walked any of the mountains before and just how happy you are with the routes?

Ben Nevis is a straight forward yomp following a very established track, and as long as you turn right rather than left when you reach the tarn you will struggle to go wrong (excepting terrible weather of course), especially with the long line of fellow pilgrims that will no doubt be trekking up ahead of you.

It is lovely to reach the peak when it is crowned in snow, and this is by far the hardest and highest walk. Eat at the pub (looks like a barn) at the bottom, cracking food!

Snowdon again is walking by numbers, just follow the PYG track and do not make the mistake of going all the way up to Crib Goch as that will make your walk a whole lot more interesting (again easily avoided, just head left and continue past Llyn Llydaw - the lovely lake at the bottom of the mountain).

Do not buy a sausage butty at the cafe - poor quality and overpriced, even to a hungry walker.

Scafell Pike from Wasdale is far shorter than walking from Seathwaite, although a lot more up. Once you are on the route up it is straight forward, with a great scramble up a pile of scree.

At the top of this, turn left to head up to the peak and note the reddish rock colouration around here, as this really helps you on the way down (I have heard tales of walkers heading down into the wrong valley, so keep your eyes open - easy if you are watching out for it).

Make sure you eat at the Wasdale Inn - if the lamb stew is on it is great!

Good luck and enjoy them all.

Michael Love, Morecambe

A. My answer would be climb the mountain you know the best, which was my mistake, after doing the three peaks solo. I got slightly lost on Scarfell Pike [sic] in the dark, but lucky I took a compass reading to help off the power station (probably Sellafield Nuclear Reprocessing Plant, Ed), which again luckily I could see because though it was dark it was not foggy....lucky me.

If your going to climb all three and you don't manage it in 24hrs, don't feel disheartened, I did it solo and it took me 36hrs 26mins.

But climbing in the dark, I would say make sure your well equipped for a night out if all fails. It is better to stay where you are and know your position, or even close to where people know your going to be, than miles out of your way.....Stay safe and don't let your desire be your disaster. .....Don't forget mountains will always be there, you might not, stay safe and be well equipped,

Good luck

Gareth Stevens, Newport

Add your answer to THIS question | Ask a NEW walking and hiking question

Return to the main list of Walking and Hiking Questions

Search for an existing Walking and Hiking Question or Answer