Last weekend nine year old James Martin walked into Robin Hood’s Bay having completed the 192 miles of Wainwright’s famous route, the Coast to Coast.
James, with big brother Josh (13 years) and mum, Michelle, endured some atrocious weather in their fifteen day expedition from St Bees Head, through the Lake District and over the North Yorkshire Moors to arrive in Robin Hood’s Bay.   The walk was in memory of the boys’ Nana Nana which inspired them to raise money for the British Heart Foundation but James also wanted to support Mountain Rescue …

Skydiving takes a lot of guts. You have to be one serious supporter to take on a stunt like this for charity. Watch the video of how one brave man, with a best friend in mind, donned a bright yellow jumpsuit to fall out of an aircraft as a way of saying thank you to the rescue team for responding to a tragic hill incident.
Warning: contains scenes that may induce vertigo. The safe landing on both feet is a relief, and it must be said, pretty slick.

Well done, John. And now for the hard part (of reaching …

After 24 years of pulling pints for climbers coming off the Roaches and Hen Cloud, John and Hilary Burrows of the Rock Inn at Upper Hulme have called their final “Time gentlemen, please.”  

John and Hilary pulled their last pint on Tuesday night and said goodbye to The Rock as they seek a quiet retirement in a small village not too far away.   The Rock has been a favourite watering hole for thousands of climbers and hill walkers looking for refreshment after a long day on and around the Roaches. 

John and Hilary …

That’s what the old advert used to say but if you’re under fifty-five you probably won’t remember.  In mountain rescue it’s more a case if you want to save your head, get a helmet – or, be safety conscious, not unconscious!

The team has for many years insisted that members wear head-gear (climbing helmets that is, not Trilbies), when operating in exposed situations or on steep ground and particularly when working with helicopters.   Until now members had to provide their own helmet as the cost of providing one for every member from team funds was …

Each year the team’s network of counter-top collection boxes grows and, despite the apparent economic gloom, income from the boxes steadily increases.

The downside of collection boxes (not that we’re complaining really) is that all the donations are in small change, mostly copper, which means counting the thousands of coins is a real time-consuming task.  Fortunately one volunteer, Fiona, an operational member living in Macclesfield who is worth her weight in pennies, meticulously sorts, counts and bags the cash ready for banking.  The team expects to raise nearly £4,000 this year from …