Itinerary

The “3 peak challenge” usually involves climbing Ben Nevis in Scotland (1344m), Scafell Pike in the Lake District (978m) and Snowdon in North Wales (1085m) all in 24 hours (including the driving between them!)

However, to give it a Blackshaw-twist we decided to do it over 6 days and cycle the 437 miles in between the peaks… and so the adventures begin J

In the end, the cycling team was me (Elsie) and my wee sister Ruthie. We were supported by the driving/climbing/walking support team of our mum Elspeth, brother Alasdair, his girlfriend Dani and our ever-enthusiastic aunts Marion and Beth. They drove the miles, climbed the hills, set up the tents and cooked us haute-cuisine pasta in large quantities!

Our six days turned out to involve the following:

Day 1: Drive from Newtonmore to Ben Nevis (c 40 miles); climb Ben Nevis (1344m) and then cycle to Tyndrum, Glencoe (47 miles).

Day 2: Cycle from Tyndrum to Abington, Biggar (94 miles)

Day 3: Cycle from Abington to Langdale in the Lake District (106 miles)

Day 4: Climb Scafell Pike from Langdale (978m) and cycle to Galgate, Lancashire (49 miles)

Day 5: Cycle from Galgate to Abergele, North Wales (105 miles)

Day 6: Cycle from Abergele to Pen-y-Pass (36 miles) and climb Snowdon (1085m)

The idea behind the challenge was to get out and do something in the outdoors and to have a bit of fun but also to try and raise some money for a charity called Development Through Challenge. This small charity runs Mile End Climbing Wall in London and aims to encourage personal development through physical activity among young people. This charity has a very personal significance for me at the moment. As many of you know, my wonderful boyfriend Mike was tragically killed in a diving accident in June. The collection at his funeral was donated to Development Through Challenge as we used to climb at Mile End a couple of times a week and it was one of his favourite ways to spend an evening. Mike loved the outdoors and trying different activities, and I feel that he would have approved of giving such opportunities to others.

We have set up a JustGiving page to collect sponsorship (I know its now after the event but it took a while for Development Through Challenge to register with JustGiving …). This is the link: www.justgiving.com/3peakpedalpower. Our aim is to raise as much as possible because Linklaters (the law firm I’m training with) have promised to match up to £500 of sponsorship!

We hope that reading the stories on this blog which Ruthie and I will write a day at a time, will amuse you and encourage you into giving as little or as much as you can manage towards Development Through Challenge. All we can say is thank you, thank you, thank you J