The 3 peaks of the UK

I'll set a little scene so people can understand my full (non) history with climbing mountains, or in fact, going on long walks at all.

Flashback to a year and a half ago, I would whinge about going on an hours walk. I just, really didn't care for it at all really. In fact, apart from weight lifting and the occasional yoga or exercise class I was quite sedentary. I've never been unhealthy per say, or overweight so I guess I just didn't see the point of walking around places, especially seeing as where I lived at the time was incredibly boring and not full any amazing scenes of natural beauty. Whatever.

Flash forward a year ago and I first came to visit my boyfriend in the picturesque coastal area of the United Kingdom, Cornwall. Hurrah. However, it's fucking hilly here guys. Mad hilly and I found myself begrudgingly trudging up hills and coastal paths, BUT enjoying the sights and sounds and smells. My boyfriend is a walking freak, anything that's uphill makes him feel alive. I can't say I still fully understand it but I guess I'm on my way because actually, the endorphin release is pretty sweet.

THEN we decided to take a trip to the lake district, which is so serene and tranquil I can't even describe it adequately into words but I'll try to a little later in this.. blog or whatever this is. We originally went there to climb Scafell Pike, which would have been my first mountain ever but we went in October because we are impulsive and don't think much through so we were advised to not try and go up there with literally no equipment or rain coats or anything to keep us safe. Okay, fine, so we went on a really long walk around a huge lake and by really long I mean 7 hours and my toes got all cut up and nasty and we had to climb over sliding boulders and I cried a little bit because it was scary OKAY?

It was there that my adventure loving boyfriend declared that he wanted to climb the 3 peaks and he wanted me to do it with him. Well, initially he wanted to do the 24 hour challenge which I refused out rightly, hello I hadn't even climbed one mountain let alone 3 in 24 hours and I hate walking up hills because it makes me realise how terribly inadequate I am at being cardio vascularly fit. So we compromised and decided we'd do it spread out and take a little road trip holiday.

In the mean time we began running a little bit, in hopes to do a half marathon. Again, I don't know why I have decided to do this because I hate running but I also do like a challenge so there we are. Plus I'm really competitive and he's amazing at it all and I want to be just as good as him so, that's a pretty good incentive.

So there we go, a little backstory.

Now - to the important part. The bit that I can not stress enough. Climbing all 3 peaks during summer time is literally so not scary and so not that hard so stop reading all the blogs that tell you you are going to die and that you need to spend hundreds of pounds on equipment and letting them make you scream inside and want to cry like I did because honestly, we massively over prepared and I panicked myself for no bloody reason.

That's not to say I am an expert because obviously I'm not and I'm pretty sure climbing them in winter would be an entirely different story so definitely ready the blogs about safety and equipment during winter but during summer, every man, woman, dog and child is up there with you, so it's really quite safe I promise. Unless you do something really mad like try and balance off the edge or form your own route for some weird reason that no one else is aware of.

Here is a list of what you need/may need/don't need and what we took -

- Good hiking boots - Yep these are a must, you want something grippy with lots of foot support. We saw a few people fall over on the descent in trainers etc so just, you know, invest a little bit. But also break them in, I had already used mine for the awful 7 hour lake walk, my partner purchased his maybe a week before we went so his heals were pretty messed up but he still managed to climb like a boss

- Water packs/Water backpack things - We each got a 2 litre water backpack thing with a straw. Honestly, amazing. You don't have to faff and you really do need a shit ton of water, especially when it's hot and believe me, it gets hot. I got burnt so bad in Scotland because I was an idiot, we'll get back to that. Also, if you come across a river, wash your face, behind your neck, your wrists and if you're wearing a hat, dunk that. Game changer.

- Hiking socks - the thicker the better. I got hold of some really thick ones (thanks dad) but my partner didn't. He ended up having to wear 3 pairs on the final climb. And buy a lot because they will honestly stink. We're a little bit gross and lived in a campervan the entire time so we kind of didn't mind reusing ours but if you aren't gross like us then totally get quite a few pairs.

- Food - Every drive day we stopped at a supermarket and just got really easy to eat, protein rich things. Boiled eggs, protein bars, yoghurts, bananas, little sandwiches. Weirdly enough I didn't need to constantly eat like I thought I would (because I kind of eat all the time due to my high metabolism) but still, super important. Also oranges, eating an orange totally turned my energy levels around and they are refreshing.

- Maps - I'll be honest, this is hit or miss for how you feel. We got given a weird, not to scale printed map of Snowdon, our first climb, bought a 'dinky' map or Scafell, our second climb, and didn't bother at all for Ben Nevis. The reason being that the trails are literally swarming, SWARMING with people. I'll post some photographs so you can see. You just follow the crowd people.

- Hiking jacket - Again, we bought some real nice waterproof hiking coats and we literally didn't wear them until we reached the summits. You get so hot climbing these things that it's impossible to wear them. The summits are pretty chilly so we ended up wearing them after 10 minutes or so of being up there but you won't freeze to death or anything silly. So if you're going in the summer maybe just take a light waterproof jacket, rather than a proper hiking jacket.

- Photography stuff - We did want to take our fake Gopro thing but we left the memory card in my laptop and only realised about 4 hours into our drive to that didn't happen. I also took my camera but carrying that up was just not going to happen because, yeah I don't like faff so I just took my phone. Phone signal is really decent on the mountains and we even managed to video call our loved ones at the summit of Ben Nevis to celebrate so that's pretty cool. So again, if you're worried about getting lost or whatever, the phone signals great so just call someone, you're all good.

- SUN TAN LOTION - oh my god, I wish I had thought of wearing it all the time but alas I did not. I just didn't think I would get burnt in Scotland. But it was a really hot day, maybe 26 degrees? and yeah I got burnt hard people so definitely always wear it, even if you think you don't need it!

- A positive attitude - yes I know, eye roll. But really, the only way is up and of course there are going to be points when you think 'oh fuck this' but just moan it out loud, laugh and keep going because it's so worth it. It's awesome. Like, really, actually awesome.

A final note I will add before I discuss the climbs - in my humble opinion, the descent is the worst bit. The pressure on your toes and knees, the fear in your heart as you dig your feet into secure bits of rock, hoping they hold your weight as you slowly stumble down a 30 degree decline (is that right? does that sound right, I'm terrible an angles etc). I actually hated going down, I always professed loudly that I was over it and honestly just walking on flat ground after is enough to make anyone cry. So don't think about the going up so much as the going down. I feel like no one ever talks about that bit so here I am.

THE CLIMBS - We did it on a really cool schedule so we arrived in Wales at night. Slept, climbed the next morning, drank that evening, rested the next day, slept then drove the day after, arrived in the night, climbed, drank, rest.. etc etc you get the drift. Then we spent around 4 days exploring the highlands the the Isle of Skye.

SNOWDON

First one, definitely the easiest one. We went up the rangers path which isn't the 'super standard easy' one but wasn't like crazy hard. The terrain is kind of varied but it does involve some climbs up rocks. Not like rock climbing but like, using your hands and feet to traverse up, and also just doing big steps up things. It was quite pretty but the hills I would say are rolling compared to lake district and Scotland who's mountain's and hills are a lot more imposing.

The summit was mega crowded, as in there was a que that we inadvertently missed, resulting in us getting yelled at by some man who had been waiting. Yes I know it's bad because people have been queuing but if you don't care about them then just walk up to the podium, take your photo and be done. It's a mountain, no one owns it. Also there were some people singing bible songs and other people screaming about football which killed it a little. It was a little cloudy at the top which isn't too unusual but we could see very clearly down one side.

We decided to take a different route back, down the other side of the mountain which meant walking along a ridge with sheer drops either side. I didn't get a photo of that part, obviously but that was pretty cool. Spiced it up a bit. But I mean, old people walk up these mountains, and tons were up Snowdon. There's also a train if you decide you don't want to climb up it or down it, your choice. All round it took us 4 hours up and down with a few little stops and a ten minute faf at the summit.

SCAFELL PIKE

I personally hated this one the most. It was the steepest for sure and hotter then Snowdon. God. We were staying at the national trust campsite at the literal foot of it. The same campsite we stayed at during our lake district stay last October. The campsite is amazing by the way, couldn't recommend it enough.

Also a little tip. If the campervan spaces are booked up, book up a tent space but just sleep in your van. Obviously you won't have an electric hook up and this isn't meant to happen but we did it at both Snowdown and Scafell and no one knew so whatever.

Anyway. Yes, you climb up the valley with goes all the way up to the summit. It's comprised of pretty much a shit ton of big steps, but proper steps, so some people prefer that. Then it switched to a little kind of flat middle bit, then it was loose rocks again. A re-occurring theme so think about how you feel about that before embarking because it isn't going to be an even, smooth path, it's always uneven and kind of skiddy.

The summit was a lot nicer, and colder. It was more calm and wider so you had space to spread out and chill, unlike at Snowdon where it was rammed and a very small summit.

We did Scafell in 3 and a bit hours up and down, so the steepest and the fastest. Probably a slightly easier descent then Snowdon, hurt my knees less and the steps make you feel a little more secure coming down. Still a pain tho.

At the bottom of the mountain and next to the campsite is a huge lake which we went swimming in. Warning, the outer rims of the lake are gross. Slimy and gross feeling under your feet. Also you sink. So we kind of wobbled about and then just jumped forward into the lake to swim.

I am actually petrified of lakes and kind of water in general because I don't know what's in them and I have an over active imagination so I did spend a little portion of the swim screaming at my own legs, much the amusement of everyone around me but I still did it and that's the point and it was an experience I won't ever forget. Plus the perfect way to cool down after that hot and sweaty walk. Some kid near us had an inflatable boat and that's a rad idea too.

BEN NEVIS

My favourite one, also the longest and hottest but definitely my favourite.

By chance we ended up finding a parking spot through the app 'park4night' which is awesome if you have a camper, right at the bottom of the Ben Nevis walk. Talk about us being lucky sons of guns this whole trip really.

Anyway, the beginning is kind of more like a trail, a nice trail surrounded by tons of ferns and foliage. You cross a few wooden bridges and zig zag your way up. The heat was unbearable. So we had to stop in parts of shade a few times but the views are incredible. You're in the Scottish highlands anyway so you're already pretty high, so even after only walking for around 30 minutes, you feel REALLY high.

The trail was a mixture between loose rocks again, with kind of splits in the path you need to step over and then larger uneven rocks which require focus and foot precision. Half way up there is a waterfall. I was going to say about the lake but the lake is actually just under half way so don't be deceived by other blogs that say its half way. The waterfall you cross is half way. Again, super easy, just take it a little slow and by that I mean, don't try and run across it. You can cross it, easy. It's just standing on some rocks which are stable and close together.

Then the rest of the climb is pretty bloody steep. With very loose gravel/rock paths. There are also 2 or was it 3 fake summits so that's awesome. You know its the real one because you get to a little patch of now at what seems like the summit and then you roll around in that a bit in amazement, then you climb over that hill peak, THEN you can see the real summit.

The summit was amazing for us that day. We heard that it's not often clear but it was SO clear. We stayed up that summit the longest. Just enjoying the finality of our mountain adventure. Drank a beer, took some funny photos of us jumping. Again, it's all a lot safer then you think providing you aren't jumping on an edge. Views were 10/10.

The descent sucked. I was burnt, it was crazy steep. We saw 3 people fall. It seemed to take the longest and I just was over going down a bloody mountain I really was. In total Ben Nevis took us around 5 hours. It was the highest, with an extra 1000ft on Scafell Pike and we stopped a lot more and just took it all in a little more because it was beautiful and our final one.

All in all it was a crazy ride. Our bodies didn't really hurt much. I'd say my calves were a little tight for 2 days but other then that it was all good.

Like I said, I am a self entitled puss, I really am not a walker and my cardio kind of sucks so I found it really hard but also a TON easier then I thought I would. I would implore anyone to do it, really.

And just take it easy. We climbed them over the space of like 9 days and even though my boyfriend really wanted to do the whole 24 hours thing, he realised how much better our experience was.

We also got talking to a mountain guide over a campfire and some whisky and he said the way we did it was the best because you can actually enjoy it rather then sprinting around like a maniac just trying to achieve something. But you know, if that's your jam, hats off to you man.