You may not have heard of Buckden Pike, although it is actually one of the highest mountains in Yorkshire, standing at just over 2,300 feet, which makes it higher than the better known Pen-y-ghent. Anyway, some time ago the South Leeds Community Hiking Group planned a pleasant walk up this mountain for Saturday 17 March 2018, unaware that that the Beast from the East Mark 2 would strike on that day.
Despite the weather, a number of intrepid (stupid?) adventurers turned up on the day to tackle the walk. Travelling on the Hunslet RLFC minibus, the band of brave mountaineers arrived in Buckden Village and set off on the walk.
We began in sunshine, followed by thick cloud, followed by snow, followed by sunshine … and so on, but almost always with a cold wind. As one of the group commented, “We had all four seasons in the space of a few hours.”
Despite the conditions, all the walkers made it to the summit and enjoyed the experience – or so they said!
Our next adventure is to the Lake District on Saturday 12 May, when we can guarantee no snow – except maybe on the top of the mountains.
We cater for everyone from novices to experienced walkers – at least one of this group who got to the top of a mountain in the worst conditions had never done anything like this before – so if you want to get involved, then get in touch with Peter at southleedswalkers@gmail.com
This post was written by Peter Todd using our Create an article for South Leeds Life page.
