The 3 Peaks (clockwise!) from Horton - 14th February 2015

Okay, with Hester away in Sweden and Hazzer still having to keep things steady due to his knee injury, it was just me out running on Saturday sooooo... I decided to "whiz' around the 3 Peaks from home - this I figured would allow me to spend more of my Saturday time with Harry before and after the run but still allow me to get in a much needed longer run, what with my first proper event of the year, the High Peak Marathon, fast approaching. Of course the very first thing I had to do before running around the 3 Peaks was to take Harry for a two miler around the river so I already had two miles 'in my legs' at the kick off.

To make things interesting, having already been around the 3 Peaks the "normal' anti-clockwise way in January, I decided to go clockwise. As a local can I say that very, very few people go round the 3 Peaks clockwise - its just not done. The fell race, in late April each year, doesn't and neither do any of the massive charity walks in the summer. Any looking up of the route on the internet will more or less take it as read that you are proceeding anti-clockwise from Horton, doing Pen y Ghent, Whernside and then Ingleborough in that order... whether you like it or not. 

Anyway I went clockwise and, despite the track being wet and muddy, it did seem much more 'runnable' going clockwise. I managed to run all the way up Ingleborough and 90% of the way up Whernside for sure but, on the flip side, the descents from both, off of the Swine Tail of Ingleborough and route one straight off the side of Whernside at the trig point, were so steep as to make running down extremely difficult to begin with. The thing that got me most though was the long gradual up hill haul to Pen y Ghent, not helped by my route selection, choosing to take the as the crow flies line through the peat bogs and mires of Black Dubb Moss rather than the slightly longer but (far) better racing line following the Pennine Way most of the time. Anyway mission accomplished and I managed to find my way home.... just in time to trot (in a sluggish way admittedly) another two miles around the river with the Hazmeister.

From Horton - 21.6 miles and 5,728 ft - route on Strava

Sulber Nick heading towards a gloom covered Ingleborough

Ice at the top of Ingleborough

Springtime arrives in Chapel-le-Dale

Looking down the Roman road through Chapel-le-Dale tin the direction of Ingleton

A pond

Heading for Ribblehead off the side of Whernside

Black Dubb Moss

The suction of the bog trying to get my leg out was incredible!

Ice near the top of Pen y Ghent

On the final run in now with a sunburst over Bowland