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.

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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 £60,000 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

The team has received the sad news that its former Vice President, Stewart Beswick, has passed away. Stewart was Vice-President of Bolton MRT in the 1990’s – early 2000’s. He became involved with the team through his son Phil, who was an operational team member from the late 1980’s until 2004. Stewart and his wife Susan began fundraising in support of the team. They were instrumental in organising the annual Holden Family Christmas Carol concert in Edgworth, which was successful as a fundraising event for the team.
Stewart also arranged the donation of a large van and catering trailer to join the team’s fleet. The catering trailer was a much-appreciated asset, particularly on protracted searches, providing food and drink to keep the searchers going. Stewart was also instrumental in organising the Edgworth Beer Festival, and in the choice of Bolton MRT as one of the two charities to be supported by the event. The team were selected for support in this way for two years running, resulting in massive donations of over £12,000 from the festivals. This enabled the team to buy its first rescue boat, and associated specialist personal protective clothing, for the water team.
As a result of his exceptional work in support of the team, Stewart was awarded the position of Honorary Vice President. Throughout the time he has been associated with the team, and in recent years when he has attended team events, Stewart has always had a smile on his face, and has been keen to check how the team and its members are getting on. The team continued to be close to Stewart’s heart, and therefore his family have kindly agreed that donations in memory of Stewart will go to support the team’s work.
We would like to pass on our thanks for everything Stewart and Susan have done to help and support the team, and our heartfelt condolences to Susan, Phil, Phil’s brother Danny, and all the family. ... See MoreSee Less

12 hours ago

At 15:34 on Friday 31st July, we received a message from the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) requesting our assistance. A 69 year old female had fallen on a woodland track running alongside the River Croal near Little Lever, Bolton. She had sustained a very painful lower leg injury. Bolton MRT members worked alongside an NWAS crew to stabilise the casualty. Strong pain relief was provided, and the woman's injured limb was splinted. She was then stretchered to an NWAS ambulance, which was parked 650m away on Prestolee Road by the River Irwell. We send our best wishes for a full recovery to the casualty. ... See MoreSee Less

3 days ago

Trafford Ramblers contacted us to request some guidance about incident prevention and management whilst out walking, and what actually happens when mountain rescue are called out. After chatting it was decided to invite the group to visit our base to discuss the work we do, and learn about some of the call-outs we have attended.

It was a very hot Wednesday afternoon when we welcomed the group to our Chorley New Road base. They brought along some extra guests they had invited from groups at East Cheshire, Stockport, and Bolton.

Initially, the group were given a talk by assistant team leader Andy about safety, and how a call to 999 was the way to obtain the team’s help. This was followed by a talk from Diane about the work of the team. Remarkably, only three of the group of 24 had heard of Bolton Mountain Rescue, and all were surprised to discover that Bolton MRT’s operational area includes Trafford. Diane described some examples of incidents the team had dealt with in the Trafford area.

There followed discussions with Diane, Andy, and two trainee members: Gareth and Ben, and a tour of our BM5 emergency response vehicle. The group made a generous donation to the team at the meeting, and we also received some wonderful private individual donations. With gift aid added, over £1000 was donated to Bolton MRT - a fantastic amount. A massive thank you to all our visitors, and to Katharine, the group’s Chair, who arranged the visit.

If you are involved with a group, and would like a talk either at our base, or at your own meeting place, you can contact us at speaker@boltonmrt.org.uk ... See MoreSee Less

1 week ago