Description
Sail the 3 Peaks – South to North
Grade 
Take the three peaks challenge in an exciting and leisurely way -by yacht!
Price: £1975
– Sole occupancy supplement £600/800
Duration:
7 nights/8 days walking and sailing
-August 17th 2024
The National 3 Peaks
Many people dream of completing the 3 peaks challenge -climbing each of mainland UK’s national 3 peaks, Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), often in 24 hours. This trip will take a far more leisurely approach to the whole adventure, turning each ascent into a day walk, giving us time to take in views from each peak and savour each summit. We sail as close to each peak by yacht as we can, then, access the mountain by various modes of transport, including steam train for Scafell Pike. This trip is suitable for experienced and non-experienced sailors alike. Before the holiday starts, we will establish how involved you want to be in crewing the boat; you are welcome to be as involved (or not!) as you would like.
Holiday highlights
- Climb each of the national 3 peaks (as a day-walk in daylight!) with Ads, a qualified and professional guide. More about Adelene Cogill
- Sail on board our yacht for the week, Morning Star. A professional skipper, Olly will guide us safely between the 3 peaks; you are welcome to be as involved in the sailing as you would like. More about Olly Cottrell
- Anchor in tranquil and picturesque coves on our journey, with opportunities to go ashore and explore.
- Travel by steam train through the Cumbria countryside to reach the entry point for the route up Scafell Pike.
- 8 full holiday days and 7 nights on Morning Star
Morning Star
Morning Star is a well appointed and beautifully maintained Bavaria 40 cruiser. She has 8 berths in 3 double cabins with crew sleeping space in the saloon.
Cabins
There are two aft cabins both of which have large double berths with good height over, a small seat for dressing and plenty of storage. The forecabin is a large well laid out cabin with plenty of floor space. The double V berth is offset to starboard and there is a bench seat to port and 3 large lockers. Door fronted lockers run the full length of the cabin on either side at the deck head. This cabin has en-suite heads (toilet and shower).
For those booking individually, cabins will be allocated on a same-sex share basis. One or two cabins are available for single occupancy for a supplement.
Dining area and meals
The saloon is light and airy with a large central table for comfortable on-board meals. The holiday is run on a half-board basis with meals taken on board. Snacks and soft drinks are also provided as required. There may be an opportunity to go ashore and eat in a local pub/restaurant on some evenings, this will be at your own expense, however, a meal will always be available on board if you prefer not to go ashore.
Single supplements and upgrades
Sole occupancy of an aft cabin £600
Sole occupancy of the forecabin (with en-suite heads) £800
Included
- Twin share of a double cabin on Morning Star
- Breakfast, lunch and an evening meal each day as well as soft drinks and snacks on board
- The services of a qualified and professional skipper
- A guided walk up each of the three peaks with a qualified and professional leader
- All transport to and from walks as necessary
Not included
- Any meals ashore and incidental expenses such as drinks
- Alcoholic drinks on Morning Star -a limited amount will be available to purchase on board or please bring your own.
- Bedding; please bring a sleeping bag
- Accommodation the night before/after the holiday
S2N Caernarfon to Fort William: Day-to-Day Itinerary
The following is the proposed itinerary. However, please bear in mind that sailing is very weather dependent. There is ample time on this trip to work around some adverse weather, however, please bear in mind that in extreme unforeseen circumstances, it may be necessary to change the itinerary. The skipper’s decision on when/where to sail is final.
N.B. All times are approximate.
Saturday 17th August: Climb Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) (1085 m)
The holiday kicks off with a bang as we climb the highest peak in Wales, Yr Wyddfa!
We meet in the Pen-y-Pass car park (buses available from Betws-y-Coed, where there is a railway station) at 9 am (approximate time, this will be confirmed later)
Luggage will stowed in the Youth Hostel where I have booked a private room for our use. Beds will also be available in this room (for a small charge) the night before the holiday, please enquire if you are interested in one of these, or there are hotels in Betws-y-Coed.
From Pen-y-pass we ascend Snowdon via the rugged but beautiful Pyg track. After taking in the sights from the peak of Snowdon, we descend via the Miners Path back to Pen-y-Pass.
From here we take the bus down to Caernarfon Marina to board Morning Star for boat orientation and safety briefing followed by dinner (and perhaps just a small celebration of our first success!) on board.
Meals included: dinner – please bring your own packed lunch.
15 km (7.5 miles) ascent/descent 700 m
Sunday 18th August: Sail to Whitehaven 
Having conquered the first of our 3 peaks we head north to the Cumbria Coast. Sailing through the Menai Straights as we leave Caernarfon is just one spot where negotiating the tide correctly is critical, making this a long sailing day that will include some night sailing.
All meals included.
Monday 19th August: Climb Scafell Pike (978m)
Today we tackle the second of our 3 summits, the highest peak in England, Scafell Pike.
Probably the most difficult to access from the sea, we travel by train from the marina at Whitehaven to Ravenglass and then pick up the Ravenglass and Eskdale steam railway to travel into Dalegarth in Eskdale. From there we climb Scafell Pike for spectacular views of Wales, Ireland, the Isle of Man and Scotland (on a clear day!) We descend into Wasdale for a celebratory pint in the Wasdale Head Inn before being collected by taxi to take us back to Whitehaven.
Meals included: breakfast, packed lunch and dinner.
15 km (9 miles) ascent/descent 1000 m
Tuesday 20th to Friday 23rd August : Sail to Fort William via the Isle of Man.
The passage north along the Scottish coast will be completed as a series of day sails, anchoring overnight in sheltered and picturesque coves and inlets. Nights at anchor are a delight, it is hard to imagine the peace and calm of the sea at night in a sheltered spot until you have experienced it. Departure and arrival times, length of day, and overnight anchorages will be determined by tides and prevailing weather conditions; there are several places on our journey where tides are strong, and we need to time our departure to ensure that we hit the tide ‘right’. Possible overnight anchorages are Puilladobhrain, Gigha Island and Sanda Island. Friday evening will be spent in Corpach Marina (Fort William).
All meals included
Saturday August 24th: Climb Ben Nevis
Today we tackle the third and final national peak, which also happens to be the highest in the British Isles, Ben Nevis!
From the boat, we walk or catch the bus to the Ben Nevis Visitors centre car and from there ascend and descend the mighty Ben Nevis via the Mountain Path (also known as the Pony Track or Ben path) to achieve our final summit.
I’m sure that there will be a small celebration on our descent, however, the holiday ends once we are back in Fort William. For onward travel there is a train station in fort William or if you would prefer, there is plenty of accommodation if you would prefer to stay the night and travel home the next day.
15 km (9.5 miles) ascent/descent 1310 m
Meals included: breakfast and a packed lunch
Kit list
For walking each day:
- Good walking boots or shoes
- Waterproof jacket and trousers
- Lightweight, quick drying trousers
- Base layer
- Mid-layer such as a fleece jacket and an additional ‘spare’ layer depending on the forecast
- Walking socks
- Warm hat and gloves -just in case the weather turns
- Sun hat, sunglasses, lip salve and high SPF sun block
- Day sack (25 litre capacity is a good size) to comfortably carry your kit, lunch and water
- Dry bag or rucksack cover to keep the contents of your daypack dry
- Water bottle
- Basic first aid kit (plasters, blister treatment, antiseptic etc)
- Some snacks to keep you going
- Walking/trekking poles (if you use them)
For life on board
- All safety equipment (life jackets etc) is provided, your walking waterproof jacket and trousers will be good enough for a one-off sailing trip
- Sleeping bag (pillows and pillow cases are provided)
- All belongings must be packed in a soft bag which can flattened and stored.
Maps
OS Explorer maps 392 Ben Nevis and Fort William, OL6 The English Lakes -South Eastern area, OL17 Snowdon/Yr Wyddfa
