At 11:23am on Sunday, Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was alerted by North West Ambulance Service to a walker who had collapsed on the steep ascent to Glenridding Dodd, above Glenridding village. The individual was conscious, pale, and able to communicate.

The duty leader made contact with the informant and, recognising the seriousness of the situation and reduced team availability following a busy weekend, requested support from Penrith Mountain Rescue Team.

A total of six Patterdale team members and five Penrith team members responded to the incident, which lasted approximately four hours.

Upon arrival, the casualty was assessed by a team medic. Once their condition was confirmed to be stable, they were packaged into a stretcher, and a technical rope system was used to safely lower them from the fell.

During the descent, the team was met by members of Penrith MRT, whose assistance was greatly appreciated. Once at the roadside, the casualty was reassessed and, following a short wait, handed over to the ambulance crew for further care.

After the incident, the team returned to base just in time to welcome and support one of our own team members who is currently cycling the length of the UK, and happened to be passing by.

We are very grateful for the support provided by Penrith Mountain Rescue Team, and thank all involved for their professionalism and teamwork. Also we would like to thank the members of the public that stayed with the walker until the team arrived

Glenridding Dodd

At 13:42 today, Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was contacted by Cumbria Police after a member of the public discovered a lone walker on the fell above Hartsop above Howe. The woman appeared confused and was walking in circles.

Two walkers kindly assisted her down towards Cow Bridge car park, where they kept her warm in their campervan until the rescue team arrived. She was then transferred into a team vehicle and conveyed back to the rescue base.

At the base, team members carried out medical checks, including temperature and blood sugar levels. She was provided with warm drinks, additional food, and dry clothingonce we were sure she was able to take care of herself she was driven to her vehicle at her accommodation.

It is suspected that the woman had been suffering from hypothermia, which caused confusion and led her to become lost during the  previous evening. She had spent the night out on the fell in cold and wet conditions during this time her phone had also be come soaked and was unusable. Fortunately, she was carrying a foil blanket, which along with her warm and waterproof clothing likely prevented her condition from worsening.

Team Leader’s Comment
“This incident highlights just how quickly conditions on the fells can catch people out. Spending a night out in cold, damp weather without proper shelter can be life-threatening. We’re relieved this walker was found in time and grateful to the members of the public who stepped in to help and kept her safe until we arrived.
With summer now clearly over, we’d urge everyone to show greater consideration in the equipment they choose to take. A bivvy bag or small shelter is a simple piece of kit that can make all the difference in an emergency.”

On this occasion, the walker was extremely fortunate to have survived the night given the temperatures and weather conditions. The team is very grateful to the members of the public who supported her and helped bring her safely off the fell.

On Tuesday 16/09/2025 at around 20:24hrs, the team were called out regards a child who was having an asthma attack. The team were already at their base on their Tuesday training night. The child was part of a school group who were on an expedition with a local outdoor centre. They were wild camping on the top of Place Fell. The team made their way to the location and the child was assessed and she treated for the asthma issue. She was then escorted together with a teacher down the fell and taken back to the outdoor centre.

On Monday 25th August at 18:23rd the team received their 3rd job of the bank holiday weekend. North West Ambulance Service requested assistance with extracting a number of casualties from the scene of an RTC in Martindale. A vehicle had left the road and ended up around 80ft down an embankment. On arrival the team assisted the Air Ambulance medics with packaging and carrying one casualty to their helicopter and he was flown to hospital for further treatment.  This was a Multi Agency incident where the team worked alongside NWAS, Cumbria Fire and Rescue, Cumbria Police and the Great North Air Ambulance.
18 Team Members attended the incident which took 3 hours to complete.

On Sunday 6th July at 19:45hrs Cumbria Police alerted the Duty Leader to a Lone Spanish Female who was on the High Street range on the Straits of Riggindale and was struggling with the harsh weather conditions.  The Duty Leader spoke to the female and ascertained that she was running the Coast to Coast and had left Patterdale earlier that day,she explained she had pitched her tent but due to the heavy rain it had become wet through inside as it had taken her so long to pitch it in the wind.  The female was unhappy with the conditions as at the time it was windy, raining  and very low cloud, she had rung for advice as she was feeling out of her depth and starting to panic.  It was decided the best course of action was for her to pack up and retrace her steps back to the Knott and descend down to Hayeswater and a small team would head up to meet her. Team Members attended Patterdale base and drove up to Hayeswater, on arrival a few minutes later the female  appeared out of the mist extremely grateful to see them. The female was driven back down and was transported to Glenridding where she was able to gain a room for the night in one of the Hotels. The rescue took a couple of hours to complete with a limited call out of 3 team member’s attending.

Whilst the previous search on Glenridding Dodd was in progress, the Team received a second call from the Police reporting that an 18 year old man had been taken ill with persistent vomiting whilst camping near Grisedale Tarn.  A full call out of the Team was initiated, but given the other incident ongoing assistance was requested from Penrith Mountain Rescue Team and a HM Coastguard SAR helicopter was requested.  6 Patterdale and 7 Penrith team members made their way up the Grisedale valley to the tarn where they located the 3 teenagers tent.  The casualty  was assessed and treated by a Team Doctor before being packaged into a stretcher and loaded into a SAR helicopter which managed to fly into the col, beneath the cloud ceiling.  The casualty was flown down to the playing field in Patterdale, whilst his companions were escorted back down by the Team.
The incident lasted 5 hours and involved 11  Patterdale team members and 8 members from Penrith.

The Team were called when a solo Coast to Coast walker with an underlying health condition went to ground after strong winds and rain closed in. A small party of four Team members located the casualty and, after providing food and a hot drink, walked them safely off the fell.

On Saturday 21/06/2025 at 18:12 hrs the team was alerted about a walker on Striding Edge who had a panic attack. The team leader made phone contact and spoke to the partner of the panicked walker. They had been coming along Striding Edge from Helvellyn summit went the panic attack occurred. By chance a member of Derby MRT was on Striding and came across the couple. He successfully assisted the couple off the ridge without further incident and the team were stood down.

The Team were called after a woman reported that her teenage son was experiencing a panic attack. Team members deployed to locate the pair and guide them safely down to Glenridding.

At 15:30 on Wednesday, 11th June, Patterdale MRT were tasked to go to the assistance of a lady from the Cheshire area who had begun to feel unwell while walking along the Lake shore path. The Team launched their rescue rib and after examining the woman and stretchering her down to the Lake shore she was ferried across the Lake before being taken to Penrith Hospital for further investigations.

This incident lasted 2.5 hours and involved 10 Team personnel.