Welcome to Bolton Mountain Rescue Team
Bolton Mountain Rescue Team is a voluntary search and rescue charity and a member of Mountain Rescue England and Wales that represents 49 teams. Bolton MRT is made up entirely of volunteers who are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
We cover an area of over 800 square kilometres extending from Darwen in the West Pennine Moors to the north to beyond Manchester Airport in the south, and from Wigan to the west to the centre of Manchester in the east.
Bolton Mountain Rescue Team
The chances are you will never need our services. However, since 1968, a great many have. Our callouts are diverse. For example, we help walkers, runners, bikers, climbers and even dogs that have found themselves in a precarious position. We also search for members of the public who are missing outside of urban areas, particularly those classed as vulnerable by the police.
It costs around £50,000 per year to run the team. Securing this amount of money each year is a constant challenge. We rely on the generosity of the public and other organisations who provide us with donations. Visit the donations page to learn more about how you can help raise money for the team.
Latest News
We have received great support from B33R @ 33 micropub in Horwich, who fundraised for us energetically last year. One of the owners, Mark, recently received a special certificate of thanks from Bolton MRT for raising an incredible £270 to support our work. A huge thank you to the pub and all their generous customers.
The team is rightly known as Bolton Mountain Rescue Team. However, last year, we responded to numerous incidents outside the Bolton area. The map illustrates just how far afield we received callouts. We travelled as far west as Wigan, north to Accrington, east to Rochdale, and south to Manchester!
Below are some of the statistics for 2024:
Number of callouts: 44
Longest callout: 6 hours 41 minutes
Incident hours: 999
Event hours: 5,291
Training hours: 4,998
Total member hours: 11,288
It was a busy year, with every team member on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Thank you to everyone for your support, which enables us to continue saving lives.
Map data ©️2025 Google
A few weeks ago you may have seen that using Facebook birthday fundraisers is an excellent way to donate to the team and help us raise over £50,000 this year.
We are delighted to announce that we have created a Just Giving page—making fundraising even easier and enabling Bolton MRT to benefit from Gift Aid.
There are many ways to raise money through Just Giving. For instance, you might ask people to sponsor you at your next event, whether it involves running, walking or climbing. Alternatively, why not bake some cakes and sell them, with the proceeds being donated to the team?
Simply visit www.justgiving.com/bolton-mrt to set up your event.
If you drop us a message, we will connect you with our Fundraising Officer, who will provide you with a fundraising pack.
Just Giving isn’t just about fundraising events—you can also make one-off or regular donations through the page. It truly is a one-stop shop.
Bolton MRT would like to thank you in advance for every penny you raise for the team.
On Call 24 Hours
Search & Rescue
Event Safety Cover
In case of an emergency, DIAL 999, ask for ‘Police’ then ‘Mountain Rescue’
Give all your prepared details of the incident and ‘STAY WHERE YOU ARE’ until contacted by the rescue team.
If you have to make a further 999 call, follow this procedure in full again.