We are immensely grateful to the Chatsworth House Trust for its ongoing support. This popular large-scale event provides a fantastic opportunity for a small, volunteer unit to raise money for the provision of a trusted emergency service. You have our appreciation and thanks.

As much as we value this event for boosting our coffers, we value it equally as an opportunity to meet thousands of visitors, many of them kind and generous supporters. Chatsworth is a wonderful outdoor setting and it is good to meet people outwith an emergency situation.

With so many people staying on-site for the multi-day event, a good sense of community can, and does build up. If you stopped by our stall for a chat, dropped a donation into one of the teams collection baskets or bought a programme, we thank you also, for helping to make this event so worthwhile.

Here are a few snaps, on and off-duty…

There will be a variety of entertainment for all the family throughout the afternoon, including a galore of competitions, best decorated house, for instance, tug of war, Carnival King, and Court of Queens, as well as cake and vegetable shows.

Buxton Mountain Rescue Team’s base has been located in Dove Holes since the 1970‘s so it is home turf and we’ll be joining in the celebrations. One vehicle will be in the street parade, and the other will be on stand-by to provide First Aid cover.

Dress up! Everyone welcome. Festivities start from 1pm onwards at the Community Grounds. Check Dove Carnival’s own website for more information.

When the team was approached to help at a local Buxton primary school, it was an opportunity for us to get the hill safety message across to a very young audience.  Four team members, including Search Dog Cap, visited Harpur Hill Primary School one morning last week.  Local mums had started a summer club to occupy and educate their children who would otherwise be watching television at home.

The youngsters were familiar with Police, Fire and Ambulance services but had little knowledge of what mountain rescue was about.  The children were reminded how to make 999 emergency calls, and introduced to what mountain rescue teams do.  There were some interesting questions from the small group which already had some basic first aid skills learnt in Cubs and Brownies.

In a short practical exercise, the children were able to carry a mountain rescue stretcher – but it was really a demonstration by Cap which held everyone’s attention.

Search & Rescue dog handler, Malc Bowyer, put Cap through his paces to demonstrate how dogs find casaulties by picking up human scent.   The team tried hard to loose some of the kids – but Cap was one step ahead, and by the end of the day all the children were accounted for!

Photos:  Search Dog Cap is star of the show and laps up the attention.  

 Time for work: two missing children to be found!

Tony, from Manchester, was climbing with a friend at Birchens Edge. Although he was wearing a helmet, when he fell he sustained a severe head injury. The first rescuers on scene found him drifting in and out of consciousness, with a compromised airway, which also led to some fitting. Action was taken to stablise him, followed by a swift evacuation on stretcher to a waiting air ambulance. The ambulance flew him to a specialist neurological centre in Nottingham.

Remarkably, after almost a month of being unconscious in hospital, including surgery to remove part of his scull to let his injured brain swell, Tony is now recovering well.

Informed of how both Edale and Buxton Mountain Rescue Teams were involved, Tony wanted to visit and thank team members individually for their part in his rescue.  Members of both teams met Tony at Edale base, and were delighted to see him walking unaided, and hear him talk lucidly about his recovery. Its not always one feels that ones input contributed to a life-saving effort, but this case was one such.

Yolanda Blane, one of Buxton’s newest team members who attended the call-out, said “It was the first time I had been out to a major incident and the first time I’d worked with Edale so it was a bit daunting and a big learning curve for me. It was difficult being involved in such a serious incident and to think that survival chances were slim, but we had to consol ourselves that we did what we could in the circumstances. We heard some reports on Tony’s condition a week or so later and it looked very bleak indeed. I was amazed to hear that he had pulled through and I wouldn’t have missed meeting him for the world. I didn’t expect him to be as well as he was and it was great to see. It made me feel very proud of the work our teams do.”

Tony is now waiting to have a titanium plate fitted, to replace the  piece of skull that was removed.  We all hope he continues his  miraculous recovery and wish him the very best for the future.

See also, corresponding article on Edale’s team site.

Photo: some members of the Edale/Buxton snatch squad with Tony Brock (in scull-cap)

Thanks to the marvelous generosity of the staff at the famous Buxton Spring Gardens branch, the team is being allowed to collect in the store all summer long.   And that’s not all!  

As part of a national “100 days of fundraising” Marks & Spencer staff all over the country will be trying to raise cash for local charities with all sorts of crazy schemes. 

Staff at the Buxton branch have already had a bag-pack in aid of the team but now plan a 250 mile sponsored cycle ride.   But a cycle ride with a difference as they’ll never actually leave the store.  Staff instead will be riding the whole length of the Pennine Way on a cycling machine firmly rooted to the floor.  No promlems with the weather then!

Owen Dyde, M & S store manager, said, “We are proud to raising money for Buxton Mountain Rescue Team and hope that the funds we raise will make a real difference to the important service they provide.  M & S is firmly committed to working with local communities and it is great to see our employees care about supporting local causes.”

M & S raised £500 for the rescue team last year as part of its 125 year celebrations and this year the staff are hoping to double the contribution.

The team sends a huge thank you to all those taking part and to those who sponsor the event or drop a few pennies into a box.  Its just more great local support from the great local supporters.  THANK YOU.

Each year three wells around the village are dressed with flower petals pressed onto boards of clay making elaborate colourful pictures.   Money raised from donations is passed onto a different charity each year.  This time the Buxworth Well Dressing Team decided on Buxton Mountain Rescue following the busy winter the rescue team had responding to non-mountain incidents in the severe snow conditions.

Many thanks to all the locals in Buxworth for their generosity and to the Wells Team for thinking about mountain rescue.

“Afternoon Tea in the Garden” on 3rd July was held as part of the Buxton United Reform Church’s 200 Year Celebrations and a fine day encouraged plenty of visitors.  The event was to raise money for both Buxton Mountain Rescue Team and Blythe House Hospice.  Generous donations raised over £150 for the rescue team as visitors wandered around the garden full of unusual plants and shrubs.

Many thanks to Mr & Mrs Blane for another great example of local support without which the team simply could not continue to operate.

The group of students, all with special learning needs, are participating in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and decided to raise money for a charity as part of the Service section of the award.  The students sometimes go walking in Macclesfield Forest and Teggs Nose and wanted to help those who might get injured in the area and the local mountain rescue team seemed an obvious choice.

Team member, Fiona Thompson, went to visit the group in Macclesfield and explained the work of the rescue team and demonstrated some of the equipment.  Fiona had an enthusiastic reception with the students eager to learn and get hands on experience of the stretcher and dealing with an injured casualty.

To raise money the group had a special fundraising day in May with a fancy dress walk to South Park and sold quizzes and other items.  Star of the event was Andrew Clarke who raised £300 alone!  Andrew, who has problems with walking, walked the entire way to South Park without the aid of his wheelchair saying, “I want to earn my sponsor money properly.”   And all this on top of £372 that the group raised for Help For Heroes in March!

The magnificent donation totalled £681 which will help the team continue its work around the Peak District.  The team sends a mighty big thank-you to the group for all their efforts and wishes them success in achieving their Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards.

Photos:  Top – The Duke of Edinburgh Award candidates with Into Work Year 2 students.    Middle – Fiona instructs on stretcher carrying.     Bottom – Award students proudly show their Bronze and Silver Award certificates.

Magnificent local sponsorship from both the public and private companies raised an amazing £8,400. This is to be shared between the two charities. Peter Corbett, event organiser, was able to proudly present the cheques at the annual Emergency Services Day .

It took just ten hours to complete the trip to John O’Groats but took months of organising and fundraising to make the event such a success.  Buxton Mountain Rescue sends a truely big thank-you to Peter and all his friends for their magnificent contribution to the team.  A donation of over £4,000 is a major boost to the small charity and will help the team volunteers to carry on their rescue work in the Peak District.

This is another example of the amazing support that local people offer the rescue team which doesn’t just provide much needed financial help but also boosts the morale of its volunteers.  Knowing that the public will go to such lengths to help keep the service operational and free of charge to all those it helps is a immense bonus.

Photos:  1. Peter Corbett, (kneeling in yellow shirt) and his group of friends with Andrew Bingham MP, representatives of Air-ambulance, and BMRT.   2. BMRT Chairman, Ian Hurst, along side the Robin which made John O’Groats in just ten hours.

For many years the company has supplied and erected a special tower free of charge for the team to display its skills.  This year was an additional challenge as, because of a wedding being held in Pavillion Gardens on the day before the event, construction of the tower could not start until the Sunday morning which meant a very early start.  And that was the morning after England played its first game of the World Cup so volunteer scaffolders were in short supply.

However, High Peak Scaffolding has never let the team down and its skilled men were on site at 6.00 am to start building the display tower.   Completed by 9.45 am the team still had time for a practice run before the event opened to the public.

Without the generosity of the local firm the team simply could not afford to spend charitable money on a demonstration tower and therefore would be unable to show the public some of the rescue skills required on a rock-face.

To mark the years of support High Peak Scaffolding has given the rescue team, a Certificate of Special Appreciation was presented to Company Business Manager, Sarah Klieve, by Team Chairman, Ian Hurst.   The certificate marked the team’s sincere gratitude for its considerable effort and financial contribution over many years.