THE RAILWAY CHILDREN THREE PEAKS CHALLENGE The Three Peaks do not have to be done in 24 hours in order to make them a worthwhile challenge.  They can be done over two days, three days, five days or any other period.  The unique Railway Children event uses specially organised rail travel between the mountains, minimising the environmental impact  and is completed in under 36 hours.  Owing to the great popularity of the Railway Children Three Peaks challenge two events took place in 2009, June 25/27 and September 17/19.  For the latest details for 2010 challenges see  www.railwaychildren.org.uk   - note the new website. See our new Mountain Challenge page for a brief introduction to the Three Peaks and other famous UK mountain challenges. Good weatherproof maps and a walker's compass, together with the knowledge of how to use them properly, are vital for tackling these mountains whatever the weather conditions. Careful planning, preparation and training is required before attempting the Three Peaks.  Read as much information as possible and study the maps before the event. Have a look at our main links page for other useful sources of information. If you have any questions about the routes up and down the mountains, preparation, training or equipment etc please don't hesitate to give us a ring.   The timings page gives typical times for a challenge attempt using road transport and will give you some idea of the time normally required to climb each mountain. Choosing the right footwear, clothing and other equipment for the challenge is obviously important, especially as you may have to cope with a wide range of conditions.  The Equipment notes page may be of help.  Please note that a good head torch (such as the Petzl zoom or a high power LED equivalent) is essential for the Three Peaks challenge (the Railway Children event tackles Snowdon at night) and we would also recommend a good small hand torch or similar as back-up.  See the organisers "what to bring" page for more details. In hot weather dehydration can be a serious problem, especially because of the prolonged effort required, so it is vital to take plenty of fluids with you on the mountains and thoroughly  re-hydrate between the climbs. Again, the Equipment notes  page may be of some help. In general, Three Peaks challenge groups sometimes underestimate the navigational difficulties involved in completing the routes, especially in adverse weather and/or darkness. This can result in groups failing to complete their challenge, or even worse having to involve the local mountain rescue teams. The Railway Children event is very well organised - it uses experienced marshals and teams are issued with personal radios, but please don't expect to rely on well marked paths on the mountain tops. This applies especially to Scafell Pike and the summit area of Ben Nevis. If not already confident about navigation on mountains, have a look at the Mountain Navigation page on the main site.  It is important to be competent at basic map reading, and know how to use a walker's compass properly.  If you use GPS as well as a map and compass, then used properly it is a very useful additional navigational tool, but it will not completely solve all the mountain navigation problems on its own.  Become familiar with the operation of your GPS before the event, set the grid format and reference datum correctly (see the Mountain Navigation page for details), and practice using it with a map beforehand, ideally in a mountain environment.  If possible enter the key mountain waypoints from the Beacon guide-maps into your GPS before the event. As well as a useful navigation tool, GPS can be used as an accurate personal record of progress (date / time/ position) for your challenge which can then be downloaded to a computer as a permanent record of your achievement.  We recommend using lithium batteries in your GPS, details are given in the Mountain Navigation page as above. The external site links on the main Beacon web site (Main Links) contains useful info. regarding the three peaks challenge and other resources for UK mountain goers.  If you would like to see other information posted here then please let us know. More information is given in our main Three Peaks page. The table below lists the new Three Peaks Challenge guide-maps in the Railway Children set. See The Guides page for details of the current full range, and more details of what each guide contain.

 

GUIDE No.	ROUTE	DESCRIPTION
No. 2 TP (RC)	BEN NEVIS via the Mountain Track	At 1,344m (4,409ft) Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Great Britain.  The summit area is snow covered for much of the year.  The guide describes the Mountain Track route  used by Railway Children teams, starting from the Glen Nevis Visitor Centre.  The ultra-clear map is ideal for navigating on the "Ben".  It has a special summit area map that shows the top of the mountain in more detail, and shows the safe compass bearings to the top of the Mountain Track that are required to avoid the danger areas in poor visibility.
No. 16 TP (RC)	SCAFELL PIKE  from Brackenclose	A map & navigation guide to the highest mountain in England starting from the head of its deepest lake, Wastwater in Wasdale.  This guide covers the ascent of Scafell Pike from Brackenclose via Brown Tongue and Lingmell Col, which is the route used by Railway Children teams, and is the most direct route to the summit. Teams actually start from Eskdale, having arrived at Dalegarth station on the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway.  They then walk north towards Wasdale Head over Eskdale Moor via Burnmoor Tarn.   A "walk-in" of about 4.5 miles. A new walk-in map covering this route is now available and forms part of the 2010 RC mountain guide-map set. Teams finish the climb at Brackenclose at the foot of Scafell pike in Wasdale, where they are met by mini-buses. Navigation problems are not uncommon on this mountain, especially in mist or poor light.  The route waypoints and notes are designed to help in navigation in poor visibility.
No. 11 TP (RC)	SNOWDON PYG Track from Pen-y-Pass	The guide map covers the PYG Track from Pen y Pass which is used by Railway Children teams for ascent and descent. The car park at Pen-y-Pass is at 358 metres.  There is a National Park information point, weather forecasts, bus links and an excellent walker's Cafe, making this an ideal starting point for the climb to the highest summit in Wales. Railway Children teams will be doing this mountain at night.  Nevertheless Janie's Cafe at Pen y Pass usually opens especially for the Railway Children teams. The famous PYG Track takes a higher, more rocky and scenic (in daylight) route than the lower Miner's Track for most of the way, before it eventually joins-up with the Miner's Track for the final steep climb up the zig-zag path to Bwlch Glas, which is very close to the summit.