Whether you are looking to do a charity event or challenge yourself, there are a few hiking challenges in the UK that would be perfect for you to tackle. I have three challenges for you to look at, some a little harder than others. I have also tried to get challenges that are a little spread out. Let’s take a look at what they are.
The Hiking Challenges
The hiking challenges I will show you are; The National Three Peaks, The Welsh 3000, and The Edale Skyline. Each challenge I have chosen is fantastic and impressive if you can complete it. They will challenge you more than others, depending on your experience and fitness.
All of the following challenges are supposed to be done within 24 hours. However, the three peaks and Welsh 3000s are often done over 48 hours, which is still very impressive.
Edale Skyline
The Edale Skyline is a great challenge for any hiker/ walker and is in the Peak District National Park. Even though the Edale skyline is the more specific challenge on the list, don’t let that fool you, as it is still not an easy challenge in the slightest.
This is a 20-mile (32 Km) hike around the Skyline of Edale ( the distance doesn’t include getting up or down). So it ended up being more than 20 miles; mine was 30. You hike over 7 of the more famous Peak District Peaks, listed below, in order of completion if you go the standard direction and start point.
Peak List
Here are the peaks in order of completion.
- Win Hill Height: 462 m; 1515 ft
- Lose Hill Height: 476 m; 1561 ft
- Hollins Cross Height: 392m; 1286 ft
- Mam Tor Height: 517 m; 1696 ft
- Brown Knoll Height: 569m; 1866 ft
- Kinder Scout Low Height: 633 m; 2076 ft
- Grindslow Knoll Height: 601 m; 1972ft
Read more about my Edale Skyline Challenge that I did for Just Drop In charity.
The National Three Peaks
The National Three Peaks consists of the largest peaks in England, Wales and Scotland. It also is meant to be completed within 24 hours, including driving. The mountains you have to climb in ascending order are; Scafell Pike in England at 978m (3208.8 ft), Yr Wyddfa (Mt. Snowdon) in Wales at 1085m (3559.9 ft), and the largest Ben Nevis in Scotland at 1345m (4412.9 ft).
This challenge can be done solo, but you need a driver as all that walking and driving would be sensible or safe. If you can’t get that, I recommend doing it with a guiding company that does this. They will have the best driving routes to ensure enough time to each mountain. Along with that, you can rest in between stops.
Here is the best link for everything Three Peaks.
The Welsh 3000’s
Out of the three challenges, the Welsh 3000 is the hardest. It consists of 15 of the tallest mountains in Snowdonia. Well, all the ones above 3000ft (914m), hence the Welsh 3000s. Over the 24 hours and 15 peaks, you will cover around 50 km (31 miles) with 13123 ft (4000m) of ascension. That’s a lot of hiking. From what I can tell, the average time from start to finish is 13-20 hours. This includes the hike to the beginning.
When I say start, it is because the challenge starts at the first summit and ends on the 15th. So you have to hike to the first and from the 15th, which adds time to the day but not to the challenge. So remember, if you do it (the standard way round), you start at the summit of Crib Goch, not the car park.
Welsh 3000’s Peak List
Here are the peaks in order of completion.
- Crib Goch, 3028ft
- Garnedd Ugain, 3494ft
- Snowdon, 3559ft
- Elidir Fawr, 3031ft
- Y Garn, 3106ft
- Glyder Fawr, 3284ft
- Glyder Fach, 3261ft
- Tryfan, 3011ft
- Pen yr Ole Wen, 3208ft
- Carnedd Dafydd, 3425ft
- Carnedd Llewelyn, 3490ft
- Yr Elen, 3156ft
- Foel Grach, 3202ft
- Garnedd Uchaf, 3038ft
- Foel-Fras, 3090ft
Read more about the Welsh 3000’s Challenge from Mud and Routes.
Disclaimer:
All information on this site is given in good faith, and no liability is accepted for any damage, loss or injury resulting from acting on it.
