in the news
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.
Last Saturday, at 13:00 we received a call regarding a man who had slipped and suffered an ankle injury in the vicinity of Red Brook on Holcombe Moor, and was unable to weight-bear. We were able to drive two of our Land Rover ambulances up the track towards the location of the walking party and were assisted by a local farmer who used a quad bike to transport the casualty down to us. We then transferred the casualty into one of our vehicles and transported him and his family to their own vehicle at the bottom of the track for onward transport to Royal Bolton Hospital. We wish the casualty a speedy recovery and thank the farmer for his help.
Please take care this weekend, especially if heading out into the hills.
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted. It's the start of a new year, and once again we need to raise over £50,000 to allow Bolton MRT to continue saving lives.
We really appreciate every penny that's donated to us by our amazing supporters. Every year kind members of the public, community groups, and businesses raise money through sponsored events, birthday fundraisers, giving via Facebook, and in a variety of other ways.
If you have a birthday coming up, have you considered doing a birthday fundraiser for us on Facebook? Head over to our profile page and select 'raise money'
Bolton Mountain Rescue Team
However you support Bolton MRT, we would like to say thank you very much indeed.
At 08:02 on Sunday morning the team was contacted by North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust with a request to attend an incident at Chorlton Brook, near to Sale Water Park, where a male was reported to be unconcious and not breathing.
An immediate response was made by 15 team members. On arrival we learned, sadly, that the male had died.
Later on in the morning we received a request to assist Greater Manchester Police to transport items of police equipment from the scene of the incident.
(library 📸)
On Sunday, Bolton MRT worked alongside colleagues from North West Air Ambulance and North West Ambulance Service to rescue a man who had suffered a serious leg injury falling on ice.
He was on a canal towpath near Haigh Woodland Park. Although not a remote location, thick ice on the path required the use of some of our specialist equipment.
Once extricated, the man was taken to hospital by land ambulance. We wish him a speedy recovery.
Yesterday, Greater Manchester Police requested Bolton MRT’s assistance with an ongoing search on rural land in the Ainsworth area for a woman who had been reported missing.
35 team members, including seven from our support team, were deployed for nine hours. Sadly, the woman’s body was found by team members in one of our search areas. Our thoughts go out to her family at this time.
Thank you to Brownhill Boarding Kennels and Stables for letting us use their car park as our operational base for the day.
On Monday evening we presented Alison, Licencee at The Jolly Crofters in Bolton, with a Certificate of Thanks for raising £1,979 for Bolton MRT in 2024. The Jolly Crofters have Bolton MRT collection boxes and have held a number of events on behalf of the team. We are very grateful for the support that The Jolly Crofters and their customers continue to give to Bolton MRT.
Useful information from our neighbours.
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted. 25 team members manned our base for 19 hours from Saturday evening through to Sunday afternoon.
This was the result of several meetings with both Lancashire and Greater Manchester statutory authorities, given the predicted wintry weather conditions.
Thankfully, there were no incidents that required an emergency response. We did, however, help one member of North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust get in to work using one of our 4x4 vehicles.
The Met Office have issued an amber warning for snowfall & ice over the weekend. This is great news if you have been waiting for a good excuse to get your sledges and toboggans out onto the local hills!
For us, snowfall does mean we might be busier than usual. Places such as Lever Park at Rivington can sometimes get very busy and the snowy, icy roads quickly become congested. If you're visiting the countryside, then please park considerately, and don't block access to gates that are needed for emergencies.
Keep an eye for updated messages from the Met Office. At the moment the advice for Saturday night/Sunday morning is to travel only if necessary - and if you do have to travel, go prepared - click the link for details.
Travelling in snow and ice - National Highways
nationalhighways.co.uk
Find out how to make your journeys as smooth and safe as possible when the temperatures drop. On New Year's Day team members were requested to assist with the major incident response to flooding in Stockport and Didsbury, following a number of preparatory calls held on New Year's Eve and in the early hours of New Year's Day.
A type-B (powered boat) water rescue team was initially mobilised to support a response to flooding at a large block of apartments in Stockport, attended by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, Greater Manchester Police, North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Kinder Mountain Rescue Team and Glossop Mountain Rescue Team. We attended with team members qualified in water rescue along with rescue equipment - namely rafts and powered boats. Floodwater at this location had largely subsided by our arrival and we were quickly stood down from that scene.
We were then asked to assist Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) at Palatine Road in Didsbury, to support the evacuation of a flooded hotel, as well as residents from nearby apartment blocks and houses cut off by floodwater. All had no access to electricity or central heating, due to an associated power cut in the area.
A huge multi-agency operation began in earnest here at around 4pm involving Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS), Greater Manchester Police, North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust HART, ourselves, Kinder Mountain Rescue Team and Cheshire Search and Rescue supported by Transport for Greater Manchester, the local council, and Didsbury Mosque. We believe a total of 469 people were rescued from flooded properties and offered alternative accommodation.
Team members stood down at around 22:00 with all taskings completed.
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted. Congratulations to Kev Camplin, a member and former Team Leader of Bowland Pennine MRT, and now our regional operational lead, on the award of Member of the Order of the British Empire in HM The King's New Year Honours List for 2025.
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted. Merry Christmas, and all the best for the festive period, from all of us at Bolton MRT to all our supporters.
We thought it would also be worth reminding you all of our Christmas opening hours.
If you can spare any extra this Christmas, please do consider a donation to help our team.
We are an organisation that requires around £52k per year to run, which means we have to raise an average of £1,000 per week to maintain the vital service we provide. Replacing essential kit can bring our annual costs up to a whopping £65k!
Fantastic achievement from these year 3 pupils at St Mary’s RC Primary School Horwich, raising over £450 for the team. Thank you.Year 3 class Catholic Social Teaching charity fundraiser or good deed, linked to a curriculum topic was to raise vital funds for a charity. Bolton Mountain Rescue was chosen. These 4 children have sent their money in and we can’t believe they have raised over £450
Bolton Mountain Rescue Team ❤️
Last weekend, whilst our volunteers were fundraising at the Horwich branch of Tesco, we were presented with a cheque for £500 by Mags, their community champion. This money was raised through donations from their store’s community bookshelf. Thank you to all who bought a book and helped to fund our team. £500 would cover the cost of one team member’s waterproof clothing, which is a vital part of our kit when out on the hill. A further £230 was donated by kind customers on the day.
We would like to express our thanks to the Mayor and Mayoress of Bolton who visited Grub's Boots with us today. This visit was to thank them for yet another amazing donation of Grub's boots given to all our volunteers. Our team really appreciates this great support from a Bolton family firm.
On Tuesday 3rd December, team members Mark and Paul had the pleasure of welcoming members of VISIBL to our Ladybridge Hall Headquarters. VISIBL stands for Visually Impaired Social In Bolton Library. It is a Rotary project which was instigated by Rotarians Maureen, Eileen, and Shelia. The group are all partially sighted or unsighted. Led by Maureen, they hold regular meetings within Bolton Central Library and these meetings frequently include a visiting speaker. Team members Christine and Mark attended VISIBL on Monday 9th September to talk about the team's work and to hear from group members about their experiences of accessing footpaths in the countryside in our area, the challenges they face, and how they overcome them. The talk was very well received, and there was extensive, lively, and interesting discussion among those present.
Following on from the meeting at the library, Maureen asked if she and a smaller group of VISIBL members could visit our HQ for further discussion and to present two cheques towards the team's funds: £60 from VISIBL and £50 from Bolton Lever Rotary Club. We were delighted to agree and it was a very enjoyable get-together indeed.
We extremely grateful for both these kind donations and, on behalf of the whole team, we extend our thanks to VISIBL and Bolton Lever Rotary Club.
Last Sunday, eight of our team members and two of our team vehicles took part in Turton Young Farmers’ Christmas Tractor Run.
This is always a great event involving 100 tractors and more than 350 people.
The event supported another very deserving charitable organisation, and the proceeds of a cake sale were very kindly donated to Bolton MRT.
Thanks, Turton Young Farmers, for organising another fantastic, festive event.
On Saturday the 7th of December, from 12:00-16:00, Bolton MRT will be attending the very festive Christmas Market at Ye Jolly Crofters, Horwich.
This event, held annually, provides fun for the whole family, and helps to raise much needed funds for our team.
We hope to see you there for some festive cheer!
Next Monday, 9th of December, Bolton MRT will be attending and fundraising at the fantastic ‘Mountains on Stage’ at Vue Cinema, Printworks, Manchester.
Mountains on Stage aims to bring the mountains to the city and to share all the beauty of mountain sports! A selection of the best films related to mountain activities are presented.
Treat yourself to an early Christmas night out, buy a ticket (link below and they can be bought on the night), get your vicarious dose of mountain air, and stop by for a chat with our volunteers.
We’ll see you there!
www.billetweb.fr/manchester-mountains-on-stage-winter-edition-2024
As Bolton MRT member Geoff was re-fuelling one of our Mountain Rescue Land Rovers (Bolton Mobile 2) at the Texaco garage in Horwich on Saturday, a kind member of the public offered to pay for it. Of course, we never expect such kind gestures; however, it does cost over £3000 per year to fuel our fleet of vehicles, so we do appreciate them immensely. Thank you to the donor from Leaders Garage in Horwich.