Jim Langley, who is a brother of Temple Lodge No 1094 in the Liverpool Group, works as a construction site manager, and each year his company select a challenge and a charity to support, and in 2025 they did the same again.
The charity selected for 2025 was indeed Cancer Research UK, and 4 months earlier Jim along with 18 of his work colleagues had volunteered themselves for the challenge selected as being the Yorkshire Three Peaks. The Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge is without a doubt one of the most rewarding challenges in the UK. Starting and ending in Horton-in-Ribblesdale, it takes in three of the best-known peaks in Yorkshire; Pen-y-Ghent (694m), Whernside (736m) and Ingleborough (723m). The aim of the challenge is to walk this 24-mile route within 12 hours!
Jim allegedly being a hard-working site manager, was very surprised when one of his colleagues approached him a week before the set challenge date and enquired what food he would be taking with him, on the challenge. A moment of surprise, shock, and equally some confusion having passed until Jim remembered the moment that being a true brother he had volunteered for the charitable event. Feeling a bit unprepared with only some amateur bike riding and running with his seven and eight-year-old daughters, Jim still accepted the challenge.
On what was currently to date one of the hottest weekends in the UK climate, Jim found himself getting up at 4am and setting off to the Golden Lion car park in Ribblesdale, and then had to convince his Mondeo that it was a Landrover Defender, managed to park in the only remaining space, with the weekend also being the summer solstice period, and car park being busy.
The first challenge of parking, and not being tempted to divert into the pub being completed, Jim, and his work colleagues set off on the main challenge of Pen-Y-Ghent, after the group splitting, Jim carried on with two of his colleagues (both of whom are marathon runners, and somewhat younger), sharing lots of laughs, sweets and jammy dodgers, they continued onto Whernside.
The biggest test was still to come which was the steep incline of Ingleborough, having walked at the back of the Old Inn through a sheep field, identifying any path was a huge issue, scrambling up the incline, encouraging those who they passed to continue, Jim and his colleagues achieved their objective, a job well done. 24.81 miles, 60,378 steps, 4,739 calories lost, £2,764 currently raised and one blister.
Along the way, Jim met lots of people of all ages and physical abilities, some wearing T-shirts with photographs portrayed remembering a friend, colleague or family member, and others going solo. With the suspected blister and very tired legs Jim and his colleagues made it down and back to the golden Lion hotel for a glass of something cheerful.
A hero’s welcome was awaiting Jim when he got home, with his children being allowed to stay up late to greet their hero of a father, this being his favourite part of the day, for Jim. Jim’s wife had not done Jim an evening meal on his return, thinking that the bag of food he took with him would have been enough, but Jim’s thoughts as he soaked his legs in the bath made him reflect, we may be out raising money for charity summoning our inner Sir Ranulph Fiennes, but ultimately, we are husband, father and brother.
Jim’s childhood friend passed away recently to oesophageal cancer and having recently attended his funeral, Jim knew that his departed friend was a great fan of the outdoors, so the challenge meant a lot to Jim and the aches and pains being well worthy of the need for Cancer Research UK.
Although Jims workplace had chosen Cancer Research UK for their charity for 2025, and having raised currently £2,914.00 for the three peaks, the pot will stay open until the end of the year. If anyone would like to sponsor Jim, please do so and write a comment with the sponsorship #James3Peaks, Click here to donate.