The history of our challenge walks in words and pictures
Up to date financial details and other information about our fundraising activities
Annual financial details of the totals raised from our Walkers and Corporate Sponsors
Information about The Three Peaks Challenge Walk and the surrounding countryside
Information about The Chatsworth Challenge Walk, and the Chatsworth area.
Preparation, Hints & Tips
Handy tips and sound advice for tackling those demanding challenge walks
Some interesting features associated with our walks
Information about us and why we raise the sponsored funds
All the other bits we couldn’t fit in anywhere else
chatsworth challenge
chatsworthchallenge.com
three peaks
challenge
threepeakschallenge.com
chatsworthchallenge.com and threepeakschallenge.com are organisers of sponsored challenge walks to raise money for the Dave Owens and Frank Goodall Memorial Fund in support of nominated charities to fund cancer research, prevention, and treatment.
Total funds raised so far
£190,864.35
The four charities we currently represent. All of the money raised on our walks go to the four listed cancer charities to fund the research, prev-ention, and treatment of cancer.
More information >>
Including...ThreePeaksChallenge
NOTE : Concerning Pen-y-Ghent Cafe images
Visitors who have navigated to this page previously will note that we published detailed photographs of the antique clocking-in machine inside the shop, and also of the Pen-y-Ghent Cafe signpost. These were published to provide items of interest for anyone intending to visit Horton-In-Ribblesdale, and the Three Peaks.
The photographs contained images of a protected trademark owned by the Pen-y-Ghent Cafe which was shown on a t-shirt and other retail items which were adjacent to the clocking in machine, and also on the Cafe signpost outside the building. Any image bearing a trademark may be published only with permission of the owner of that trademark. Permission to use such images on this website has not been granted to us by the Pen-y-Ghent Cafe.
We published the photographs to provide content of historical interest relating to the Three Peaks Walk, of which the Pen-y-Ghent Cafe has become strongly linked. We mistakenly believed the Pen-y-Ghent Cafe would welcome such a reputable association.
It is our strict policy not to publish any content which may cause public or personal offence, or infringes upon individuals rights, or the intellectual or proprietary rights of an organisation. We have therefore removed these images in accordance with the request of the trade mark owner. Regrettably some of the narrative content on this page is now devalued by the omission of the respective accompanying photographs. This notification has been inserted voluntarily, and is not a compulsory statement issued upon us by a legal demand.
Please see the notes at the foot of this page for any and all queries concerning the clocking in procedures, and for any and all matters concerning the Pen-y-Ghent Cafe.
Historically the Three Peaks Walk begins from the Pen-y-Ghent Cafe in Horton-in-Ribblesdale and many thousands of walkers have clocked in at the cafe. Between 1968 and 2000 more than 200,000 walkers had made it back within the target time of 12 hours.
Family run business
The Cafe is run by the Bayes family who have owned it for 37 years. Peter Bayes was looking to leave his job and take on a business in the countryside for the sake of his children.
The cafe, or grocers as it was then was advertised for sale in a newspaper. The family saw it on the Saturday and bought it on the Monday. They’ve stayed ever since.
The cafe is on the route of the Pennine Way and they first concentrated on getting the cafe known to walkers on this long-distance path.
Clocking in.
But then the Three Peaks Walk developed, with the establishment of the Three Peaks of Yorkshire Club for those who successfully complete the walk in the required time. The real coup de grace was the introduction of a clocking-in, clocking-out system for walkers attempting the three peaks.
Walkers check in with the cafe before they leave and clock in on their return as the cafe will always remain open for three peaks walkers, and this provides a safety service as the family know who are out on the fells and who have yet to return.
Pen-y-Ghent Cafe (photo : BBC)
The Pen-y-Ghent Cafe at Horton In Ribblesdale : Home of the antique clock card machine (photo: John S Turner)
Clocking in at The Pen-y-Ghent Cafe
These notes are strictly for the assistance and interest of walkers who are doing the Three Peaks Walk as part of a privately organised event, and not one for which we have any association.
So, if you’re doing the walk, and wish to formally record your day in the hills, or tackle the peaks on a private day out you can make use of the Pen-y-Ghent Cafe clocking in service. Follow these notes to learn about the service and obtaining your clocking in card.
The Pen-y-Ghent Cafe
The Pen-y-Ghent Cafe, at the start and finish of the walk in Horton in Ribblesdale has an antique clock card machine that will record your start and finish times for the walk. To use the free service obtain your clock card from the cafe and write on it your name, home address,
The Cafe is open between 09.00 hrs and 17.30 hrs each weekday except Tuesday (closed all day) and 08.00 hrs and 17.30 hrs on Saturdays and Sundays. The clock card service operates every day except Tuesdays and Fridays. Walkers leaving for the peaks before the cafe opens can post their details through the door and the staff will create and stamp a card for you on condition that you provide the following details :-
1. Name
2. Home Address
3. Telephone Number (home, work, or mobile)
4. Vehicle registration (or that of your party)
5. Where the vehicle is parked
6. Start Time
Note : The latest time of departure is 9.30am. Although the cafe closes at 5.30pm, staff are on hand until every walker is accounted for. It is the responsibility of each walker to clock themselves back. If you fail to complete the walk for whatever reason, please ensure you inform the cafe that you are no longer on the hills.
The telephone number can be obtained from the Cafe at the start of the walk (see contact details for the Pen-y-Ghent Cafe shown below)
telephone number, vehicle registration and where the vehicle is parked. You then stamp the card in the clock machine and hand it back to the cafe.
When you have completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge Walk, inform the cafe that you have returned and their staff will stamp your card and send it to you by post.
If you have completed the walk within 12 hours you will be invited to join the Three Peaks of Yorkshire Club and purchase a Three Peaks badge and tie.
Please Note : This new photograph of the clocking in machine has since been provided to us by the original photographer, John S. Turner who has removed any content to which the Cafe retained any image rights. This image has now been restored to this page for it’s historical content and interest to our website visitors.
The Clock Machine
The image below is of the iconic clocking out/in machine inside the Pen-y-ghent cafe in Horton. Over the years the machine has been used by thousands of Yorkshire Three Peaks walkers to record the time they set out and the time they returned.
The Clock Machine at the Pen-y-Ghent Cafe. (photo : John S. Turner)
The clock card is held at the cafe to ensure that all those that set out do return. People who complete the 24 mile route over Pen-y-ghent, Whernside, and Ingleborough within 12 hours are invited to join the 'Three Peaks of Yorkshire Club'. For more information about opening hours we advise contacting the Cafe direct.
Three Peaks - Clocking In (Please note that we no longer organise the 3 Peaks Challenge event)
If you took part in this year’s walk, and want to take the challenge again, OR...
If you’re reading this for the first time, and wish to take part in our annual walk, click on the following links for more details.
Page Acknowledgements
Text : Philip Lynskey : Gerard Mitchell
Images : BBC North Yorkshire, John S. Turner
Image Links: This page features royalty free original images from the following contributors
CreativeCommons.Org : John S. Turner
chatsworthchallenge.com are organisers of fund raising challenge walks in support of the Dave Owens and Frank Goodall Memorial Fund to raise monies for nominated charities in support of cancer research, prevention, and treatment.
© www.chatsworthchallenge.com
Further reference to this page and other source material may be seen on our Acknowledgements page
Pen-y-Ghent Cafe (John S. Turner)
IMPORTANT NOTE : Concerning the Pen-y-Ghent Cafe Clocking In Procedures
Contact details for the
Pen-y-Ghent Cafe :-
Pen-y-Ghent Cafe
Pen-y-Ghent View
Horton-in-Ribblesdale
Settle
North Yorkshire
BD24 0HE
Tel : 01729) 860333
Email address:
mail@pen-y-ghentcafe.co.uk
Normal hours of business
Monday : 09.00 - 17.30 hrs
Tuesday : Closed all day
Wednesday : 09.00 - 17.30 hrs
Thursday : 09.00 - 17.30 hrs
Friday : 09.00 - 17.30 hrs
Saturday : 08.00 - 17.30 hrs
Sunday : 08.00 - 17.30 hrs
that may be, or have been provided by the Cafe. The only assistance we can offer in this matter is to provide details of the Cafe, and suggest that they are contacted in respect of any queries or requests. The address and contact details are detailed herewith.
Privacy Policy Statement
We are not responsible in any way for the practices of other sites or organisations, and we encourage our site visitors to be aware when they leave our site via any of the links or directional indicators to make appropriate enquiries and obtain necessary assurances from the organisation to which they apply in respect of any and all matters
See our Privacy Policy Statement
We include information concerning the clocking in procedures for the Pen-y-Ghent Cafe on this site for the benefit of our visitors. Please note that threepeakschallenge.com is a totally independent body, and is not an official representative body for the three peaks walk. We do not have any association with the Pen-y-Ghent Cafe, nor any other organisation concerning the three peaks challenge walks.
The procedure of clocking in walkers who do the three peaks walk, and recording their times has been carried out over the years by the Pen-y-Ghent Cafe as a free service for the safety and benefit of walkers, and to provide them with a recorded time of their efforts for the day.
The matter of recognising the completion times for the walk has always been by means of the participant self validating their own times by simple honesty. We receive many requests and queries concerning the clocking in procedures, many of which are from walkers who by some means have not received a record of their times.
We regret that we are unable to provide any assistance concerning a recent walk, or in response to any archived or historical event concerning the three peaks walk in which the the Pen-y-Ghent Cafe may have been involved. We are unable to assist simply because we have no access to any files or indeed any of the services