The Yorkshire Three Peaks: 24 Miles in One Day

The Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge is a famous super-long walk where you have to climb three big mountains in under 12 hours. Everyone says it’s really hard. We looked at Dad with our best puppy-dog eyes and said, 'Can WE do it, Dad? Please?!' He looked a bit worried, but eventually, he said yes! We trained for weeks, doing longer and longer walks, like the one up to Grisedale Tarn, so our legs were ready. My sister, Luna, said we were crazy, but we knew it would be epic! And guess what? We did it in 11 hours and 42 minutes. Not bad for a 10-year-old and a 12-year-old, right? Even Mum was impressed, which is saying something!

We started at the Pen-y-ghent Café in Horton-in-Ribblesdale at 6:30am. It was still so dark that our headtorches were glowing, and the air was crisp and cold with a damp, earthy smell. The café is where you clock in and out – they have a little machine that stamps your card with the time. It's been the official starting point for decades, so it felt like we were joining a very special club. We were proper excited, practically bouncing, even though we’d only had quick breakfasts. Dad said the café's full English breakfast would be our reward at the end, which was a huge motivator!

Pen-y-ghent was first. It's only 694 metres, but it's got this amazing, lion-shaped profile – once you see it, you can't unsee it! The scramble up the 'nose' of the lion was a fun warm-up. It was a steep, rocky section where you used your hands and feet to climb up big steps of rock. It felt rough and cold under our hands, but it woke us up properly! By 8am we were on the summit, watching the sun slowly burning through the morning mist, turning everything golden. We could see the other two peaks in the distance, looking so far away, which was a bit daunting. We shared some jelly babies at the top, feeling pretty chuffed.

Then came the long slog to Ribblehead and up Whernside. And honestly, this is the boring bit, if we’re completely honest – miles and miles of boggy fields and track with the famous Ribblehead Viaduct getting slowly closer, looking like a giant train bridge with a million arches. My legs started to ache, and Hugo began complaining about his feet. Dad had to distract us with riddles and games of 'I Spy'. The ground was squelchy in parts, and our boots got properly muddy. But Whernside itself, at 736m, was totally worth it. The ridge walk along the top is absolutely brilliant, like walking on a giant green carpet. You get these incredible views down to Ribblehead Viaduct on one side and across to Ingleborough, our final peak, on the other. The wind was whipping around us, making our hair fly, but the views were so wide and open that it felt amazing.

Ingleborough, at 723m, was last, and by this point our legs were proper, proper tired. They felt heavy like sacks of potatoes. The final ascent felt like climbing endless stairs on jelly legs, each step a massive effort. We just put our heads down and kept going, thinking about those chips and Dad’s bacon sandwich! But the flat summit – like someone sliced the top off with a massive knife – is such a reward. It's huge up there, a big rocky plateau, and we could see the whole world fading into evening. We could even see Pen-y-ghent and Whernside from there, tiny in the distance, and felt so proud of how far we’d come.

We ran (more like hobbled and shuffled, really, because our legs were so stiff!) back to the café, where Dad stamped our cards. The clock read 11 hours and 42 minutes! Yes! We high-fived everyone and immediately ordered the biggest plate of beans on toast you’ve ever seen, plus a huge chocolate milkshake each. It was heaven. Three peaks, three awesome t-shirt designs (each with its own distinctive contour lines and shape!), one incredible, super-tiring, best-day-ever day. Our legs ached for days but our minds were full of mountain memories.