24 Lake District Peaks, 51Km to cover, 3160m to climb . . . in just 24 hours
Join us for the will4Adventure Lakes 24 Mountain Challenge, an epic day in the Lake District and a gruelling hike through England’s highest mountains. This challenge leads you from Honister Pass to St John’s in the Vale via two of the Lake District’s highest mountain groups. The whole route incorporates 24 Wainwrights including both Scafell Pike, (England’s highest mountain), and Helvellyn too. This is a UNIQUE challenge that we have put together for anyone looking for a long day in the mountains of the Lake District.
Plan
Arrive in Keswick, (have a beer maybe), go to bed. The next day … get up early at about 0300 grabbing a quick snack and a slurp of some fluids. You will be driven from Keswick by bus to Honister Pass. Following a team photograph, en masse, everyone will depart at around 0400 headed for the first peak of the day: Grey Knotts. Once you have covered the first 32Km of the challenge you will descend to an admin point at the southern end of Thirlmere Reservoir. Here you will be fed a hot meal before making way for Helvellyn and the remaining 9 peaks spanning a further 20Km of tough Lakeland terrain. You’ll be picked up from the end point in the early hours and delivered back to Keswick.
The Route
Our Lakes 24 Mountain Challenge spans two mountain ranges, including 2 of England’s highest mountains: Scafell Pike and Helvellyn. The first leg covers around 32Km and takes us up 16 of the Wainwright peaks.
Listed here are the 24 Lake District peaks (24 Wainwrights) that you will attempt, on the Will4Adventure Lakes 24 Challenge
Leg 1
Leg 2
Price
We offer this event for private group bookings only, starting at £2200 for a team of 8.
- Guided by qualified mountain leaders
- Hot meal provided en-route
- Transport to and from start/end points
- Event support
Contact us with your preferred date(s) that suit you and the numbers and we’ll get back to you asap with all the details.
What happens next?
Once you have booked your team onto this event you will in the first place be sent a set of joining instructions for the day. With a few days to go, and with a good idea of what weather we will be facing, a final confirmatory email will be sent out to everyone. Please note, that whatever the weather, the event will run.
Accommodation
You will need to book and pay for your own accommodation for this challenge. Look for accommodation in Keswick only, ideally somewhere near to Keswick Bus Station on the Headlands. In Keswick there are numerous B&B options, plus a youth hostel which also offers private rooms. If you are staying somewhere too far from the town centre it could make things trickier at the end of the day when we are returning you to Keswick: so please only find accommodation that is fairly central.
Fitness level required for the Lakes 24 Peaks Challenge
Our Lakes 24 Mountain Challenge requires that you carry a back-pack over a considerable distance, up steep hills for up to 24 hours. For good measure, the weather will probably be cold and wet, or just too hot. It’s fair to say it’s a trek of an extremely arduous nature for people who are game for a proper challenge! Taking time to physically prepare for this day will be time well spent. (For those of you that have done it, it will make the Three Peaks Challenge look like a walk in the park).
What happens if I need to drop out?
Climbing 24 Lake District peaks in one day is a TOUGH gig. We know that some days it’s just not to be! As much as we might think we’re ready and in a good place to take on a mountain challenge like this, for whatever reason, we know that this might just be a challenge too far for some people. To that end, at the 14Km point at Angle Tarn will be the first opportunity for people to assess how they are doing. People who may already have collected an injury for example may want to descend from here the 3 miles down to the Langdale Valley.
Then at the 31Km point, where a hot meal is served will be the next main opportunity for people to drop out should the need arise. It will already have been a BIG day by this point, and possibly the idea of a further 20Km will just be too much for some people. That’s ok – we can get you back from here, no problem.
Some thoughts on Equipment and Wet Weather Preparation
It has been known to rain occasionally in the Lakes … Bad weather needs the right mindset combined with the best preparation – and then it can be overcome! With that in mind we have written this advice here and here we look at what kit you should carry for a summer’s day hill-walking in the UK.
See the Lakes 24 Challenge from 2022 …
In 2022 we led this challenge for a team from a lovely charity called Chapter2 who made this short film and have allowed us to share it with you here.