Event History - Margaret Manley & Crickhowell Youth Hostel

 Bob Manley, who first did the Three Peaks Trial in 1964, looks back at when the event started and was based at the now closed Crickhowell Youth Hostel. The Youth Hostel was also run by his Mum, Margaret Manley

 

 For the full newspaper article (from 1972)  CLICK HERE

BOB MANLEY WRITES: I was for a while the youngest person ever to do the Three Peaks Trial. I was twelve in 1964, when it all started from Crickhowell Youth Hostel, where my mum was the warden. 

I joined a party of scouts from Birmingham that stayed in the hostel. The leader was quite laid back, and we started quite late. We climbed Sugar Loaf, and then the Skirrid, then back into Abergavenny where the leader decided to take us all into Quo Vardis Fish and chip shop for tea. We were probably in there for up to an hour, so we didn’t start to climb the Blorenge till after 5pm. 

We never did find the trig point on the top, as by this time it was getting dark. We made the rough descent from the top down to the Blaenavon road, where Chris Barber (the event founder) who was out looking for us picked me up in his car and returned me to Crickhowell. The rest of the scouts carried on walking, and arrived back about 8.30. Happy days....

The article above is from The Abergavenny Chronicle when mum was about to retire from the hostel. N.B. I get a mention in the article, although I’m christened Robert, mum always called me Robin but am now known as Bob.

THANK YOU TO THE 797 WHO TOOK PART IN THE 2017 EVENT!!!!!!!!

Many thanks to the 797 walkers who took part in this year’s Three Peaks Trial! Another huge turnout!

Cardiff Outdoor Group would particularly like to thank:

• Longtown Mountain Rescue Team – LMRT for marshalling all the mountain top checkpoints.
• St David’s Hospice Foundation and Elenydd Wilderness Trust who helped marshall the event.
• Councillor Nick Tatum of Abergavenny Town Council who helped in a number of roles.throughout the day.
•  The team of midwives, 'The Delivery Girls', who were fundraising for Breast Cancer Care, Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust and Ovarian Cancer Action who had a charity cake stall just before Checkpoint 2 in Glangrwyney.

The Charities and Fundraisers who supported the event:

• St David’s Hospice Foundation;
• The Vine Trust (a charity who supply volunteers to the poorest parts of the Third World). Jonathan Prestage, aged 16, from Kent is raising funds on the Three Peaks Trial for this charity and he's written a piece on the 3PT blog

 We hope to see you all again at the 2018 event!

The numbers on each route were:

Platinum 124; Gold 523; Silver 118; Bronze 32; (Total = 797)The first walkers back on each route were:

Platinum:  Richard O'Shea (59) from Cwmbran returned in 3 hours 34 minutes after the bus dropped them at Llanthony at 8:30.


Gold: William Fox (55) from Chepstow got back in 4 hours 7 minutes after leaving Abergavenny at 8am.


Silver: David Brunsdon from Cwmbran was first back at 11:26 after leaving Abergavenny at about 8am.


Bronze: Philip George (59) from Gloucester was first back in 2 hours 2 minutes. Oldest/Youngest on Routes:

On Platinum Route the oldest was Clive Cochrane (74) from Abergavenny who got back at 16:35 and the youngest entrant was Elliott Booth (15) from Amersham, Buckinghamshire who returned at 18:05.

On Gold Route the oldest was Mike Laurence (74) from Chepstow who got back at 15:22. Thirteen teenagers also did the walk the youngest being Edryd Lewis (13) from Cardiff who returned at 18:44 whilst the fastest was 17 year old Bethan Lewis from Bridgend who got back at 14:45.

The oldest back on Silver Route was Roger Williams (70) from Newport who got back at 16:14. The youngest entrant was Olivia Taphouse (13) from Oxfordshire who returned at 17:16.

On Bronze Route the oldest were Owen and Lyn Rook, both 65 and from Cardiff who returned at 15:25.The walker who came from the furthest away to do the event was James Matthews who lives in Paris.
Non-Finishers
 
Of those who failed to finish there were:
 
Platinum = 3; Gold = 33; Silver = 9; Bronze = 0

The weatherman on friday said "If you've planned an outdoor event this weekend you won't be disappointed" and for once he was right! Sunshine all day.

Walker Raising Funds for the Vine Trust

Jonathan Prestage, aged 16, from Kent, hopes to raise sponsorship from the event to support the Vine Trust, a volunteering charity which aims to make a real difference for some of the poorest children and communities in the world.

He is planning go on a volunteering trip to Peru in July, with around 30 other students from his school. The purpose of the trip will be be to build and maintain homes for children who have been living on the streets, thus rescuing them from a dangerous and distressing situation. Sponsorship from the event will contribute to the costs of the trip.

Jonathan has taken part in the South Wales 3 Peaks Trial three times before, completing the Bronze Route in 2014 and the Silver Route, twice, in 2015 and 2016.

Jonathan's fundraising page can be found at http://www.vinetrust.org/fundraise/peru3

Charity Cakes For Sale Just Before Cpt 2 in Gilwern

Some friends of participants on the Gold and Silver Routes have a charity cake stall just before Checkpoint 2 in Glangrwyney, at Lower Common about halfway along Glangrwyney road between The Corn Exchange and Glangrwyney bridge. It's a property on the left (look out for the signs). They have a Facebook page called 'The Delivery Girls' and are raising money for Breast Cancer Care, Ovarian Cancer Action and Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust. They serve tea, coffee, hot chocolate and soup, filled rolls and homemade cakes. All proceeds go to the charities.

All Routes Now FULL!

 

All Routes are now full. 

Thanks to all those who've entered.