The sun shone brightly as nearly 800 people took to the hills around Abergavenny for this year’s Three Peak’s Trial and raised thousands for charity.

Organisers said the weather was the best they’ve ever had for the challenge walk which is the oldest in the UK.

The event is organised by Cardiff Outdoor Group and marshalling at check points on all the peaks was provided by members of Abergavenny-based Longtown Mountain Rescue Team.

Walkers came to Abergavenny from across the UK to take part in the test of endurance and map reading skills and enjoyed wall to wall sunshine.

The Three Peaks Trial is made up of four different routes.

The Platinum Route is a linear walk of about 17 miles and 5,000ft of ascent from Llanthony Abbey to Abergavenny over Bal Mawr, Pen Cerrig Calch and Sugar Loaf. It’s the most challenging of the walks and the first walker back was Richard O’Shea, from Abergavenny, who returned in three hours 34 minutes after the bus dropped all walkers at Llanthony at 8.30am.

The oldest on this route was Clive Cochrane, 74, from Abergavenny, who got back at 4.35pm. The youngest was Elliott Booth, 15, from Amersham, Buckinghamshire who returned at 6.05pm.

The Gold Route is the original challenge; a circular walk of about 20 miles and 5,000ft of ascent, which crosses over the Blorenge, Sugar Loaf and Skirrid. Walkers are never far from civilisation yet there is no obvious route so that concentration on map reading is essential to keep to the best route.

Fastest was William Fox, from Chepstow, who got back in four hours seven minutes after leaving Abergavenny at 8am.

The oldest was Mike Laurence, 74, from Chepstow, who got back at 3.22pm. Thirteen teenagers also completed this route, the youngest of them was Edryd Lewis, 13, from Cardiff who returned at 6.44pm and the fastest teenager was 17-year-old Bethan Lewis, from Bridgend, who got back at 2.45pm.

The Silver Route is a circular walk of about 15 miles with 4,000ft of ascent. It follows the Gold Route from Abergavenny over the Blorenge and Sugar Loaf, then descends back to Abergavenny. The fastest on this route was David Brunsdon, from Cwmbran, who got back at 11.26am after leaving Abergavenny at 8am.

The oldest on this route was Roger Williams, 70, from Newport, who got back at 4.14pm and the youngest was Olivia Taphouse, 13, from Oxfordshire, who returned at 15.16pm.

The Bronze Route is a circular walk of about ten miles and 2,000ft of ascent. The route goes from Abergavenny to the summit of Sugar Loaf and then descends by a different path. The fastest back on this route was Philip George, from Gloucester, who was back in two hours two minutes.

The oldest walkers on this route were Owen and Lyn Rook, both 65, and from Cardiff, who returned at 3.25pm.

The challenge attracts walkers from across the UK and into Europe. This year the person who travelled the furthest to take part was James Matthews who lives in Paris.

Out of the 797 people who took part just 45 people were unable to finish the challenge.

Coordinator Chris Lewis, from Cardiff Outdoor Group, said, “It’s been another incredible fundraiser. The weatherman said the day before that if you’ve planned an outdoor event this weekend you won’t be disappointed and for once he was right! We had sunshine all day.

“We couldn’t run this without the help of so many people and organisations.

“Our thanks go to Longtown Mountain Rescue Team for the superb work in marshalling all the mountain top checkpoints.

“The St David’s Hospice Foundation whose volunteers assisted Cardiff Outdoor Group in checking-in walkers. Councillor Nick Tatum, of Abergavenny Town Council, who helped in a number of roles throughout the day. Fundraisers ’The Delivery Girls’ for Breast Cancer Care, Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust and Ovarian Cancer Action who had a charity cake stall just before Checkpoint Two, in Glangrwyney.

“Our thanks to all the other charities and fundraisers who supported the event, including the Vine Trust who supply volunteers to the poorest parts of the developing World.”

Longtown MRT team leader Luke Lewis added, “The Three Peaks Trial is a big event in the team’s calendar and our members were on checkpoints on the mountain tops around Abergavenny for up to 12 hours.

“The weather was the best we’ve seen although there was a cold wind on the peaks.

“We’re happy to report we had no major injuries to deal with and we look forward to seeing everyone again next year.”

Next year’s Three Peaks Trial is on Saturday March 24.