Last Friday my first thought on waking was ‘what on earth have I done’. When I signed up for a  ‘3 Peaks in 3 Days Challenge’ a  few months previously it had seemed a great idea. But as the day dawned I was questioning how good idea had it been. Three days walking up mountains with people I didn’t know, possibly in appalling weather and with no comfort stations.

Nine hours later I was having my kit checked before getting on a bus at Glasgow Airport en route to Fort William.

The 3 peaks are the highest mountains in Scotland (Ben Nevis), England (Scafell Pike) and Wales (Snowdon). I was going to be doing a mountain a day but the most common challenge is to attempt it in 24 hours. I was going to find out that was well out of my reach.

But back to the bus. I joined nine other women. And a few of them were not decades younger than me which was a great relief. A 100 miles later we arrived at our first destination. A hostel. Now when I signed up the accommodation was billed as ‘bed and breakfast’. This conjured up certain expectations and this wasn’t it. But there was a bed. It was just in a room of 4 bunk beds. And breakfast was instant porridge. No violation of the trade descriptions act but only just. On the positive side the strangers soon became friends.

So after a night sleeping on the top bunk in some, quite frankly, dodgy bed linen we assembled outside the hostel at 5.45 am to make our way to Ben Nevis.

And we were off. Now I must confess that my training had not been that specific to what lay ahead. I had carried on doing the same thing that a I had been doing for the last near on five years. Although I had been running up the escalator at Oxford Street Station and there had been one excursion to Box Hill. I was soon to find out that I should have done something different. It was going to be tough.

Ben Nevis is the highest point in Britain at 1,344 metres. It is 5 miles to the top. And it is relentless. We were told at the start that we would be put into groups as it became apparent how fast we could walk. I ended up in the slowest group but on the way up I wasn’t the slowest. The way down was a different story. I would have been overtaken by the tortoise.

I was so pleased that I had invested in the walking poles. They certainly kept me upright.

What surprised me was how busy Ben Nevis is. And a lot of dogs. Apparently, over 130,000 climb it each year. People not dogs.

Seven hours later we were back in the car park for the 200 mile drive to Gretna Green where we would stay the night before going onto the start of the Scafell Pike climb.

At this stage I knew that no way could I have done this in 24 hours. I needed a good meal and my sleep. Plus you have to complete Ben Nevis in 5 hours to stay on track.

Thankfully, the second night was spent in a hotel. I shared the room with Lisa who although was a fair bit younger shared the same passion for fitness as me so we had quite a lot to talk about but sleep was the priority.

Another 4.45 am alarm and  we were off to mountain number two and I was nervous. Ben Nevis had been tougher than expected and Scafell Pike was supposed to be the hardest of the three mountains. It wasn’t so high but the ascent is a lot steeper. And if the ascent is steep so is the descent. But nerves are a wonderful thing and I actually found it that little be easier. The boulder fields were challenging especially the one at the summit but I was becoming more confident in my ability to stay upright. Although I was still a little nervous about falling over and hurting myself. I didn’t want to bleed out on the side of a mountain.

Scafell Pike was completed in five hours. Next stop Snowdon.The two hardest mountains had been conquered. We were on the homeward stretch.

But Snowdon wasn’t the easiest mountain. It turned out to be the toughest for me. The first couple of kilometres were a gentle amble but we then reached what looked like a vertical climb. And whilst it wasn’t actually vertical it was a climb not a walk. For the first time we found ourselves climbing up and over rocks. It was on the rocks that I sustained my only injury when I somehow managed to stab myself in the knee with my walking pole.

It was on the descent that I experienced my lowest point. It was cold. It started raining. We had to quickly get on our waterproofs. But not fast enough. My hands got cold. The pain in my arthritic fingers hit me. I felt like crying but I put on my gloves and started walking. Half an hour later the sun was out, the gloves were off and the pain had gone.

We descended on a different path. A far more gentle route but by the time we completed Snowdon our legs were screaming out for mercy. Five hours after we started mountain number 3 we were sipping bubbles and collecting our medals. We had done it. I had done it.

My final ‘pearls of wisdom’:

1. It was tougher than I expected but I never doubted that I would complete it. Not everyone did.
2. Ben Nevis is longer, Scafell Pike steeper and Snowdon is more of a climb than a walk.
3. The scenery is breathtaking but most of the time you are looking at your feet. I needed to remind myself to look up.
4. You don’t go to the top of a mountain to admire the view. Each summit was shrouded in cloud.

1. ‘Never again’ becomes ‘what next’ in less than 24 hours.
   1. Strangers can soon become friends. I met some great people who I will stay in touch with. We are already planning our next adventure. But no more hostels.

Three mountains. 25 miles of walking. 77,000 steps. 1 stab wound. 8 new friends. The end of an awesome challenge.