The Team

The Team

Mountain Rescue teams in England and Wales are voluntary organisations funded entirely by public subscription. The teams do not work independently, they are called upon by the police in situations where people are reported to be missing or are injured in locations that cannot be reached by the county ambulance service. Typically, this is mountainous areas but the team can be involved in any situation with difficult access even moving casualties from their own homes. We rescue farmers, forestry workers and depressed persons as well as walkers, climbers and mine explorers.

Each rescue team has an area which enables the police to alert the appropriate team in the event of an emergency call. To call a mountain rescue team, ring 999 and ask for the police. The Coniston team covers a large area from Little Langdale in the North to Beacon Tarn in the South and from the West bank of Windermere to Dow Crag. This area contains the Old Man of Coniston and Wetherlam together with Dow Crag, one of the largest rock massives in the Lake District. In addition, there are many old mines, some dating back to the 1500’s in the area, with many entrances and shafts which can trap the unwary. Old mines are extremely dangerous and should never be entered by inexperienced people.

The team consists of some 40 volunteers who live locally and freely give their time to help people in distress. Some the team are also ‘first responders’, local volunteers who provide immediate assistance when there has been an emergency call to the ambulance service. As in many rural areas, it normally takes about 30 minutes for an ambulance to reach Coniston. Team members are permanently on call and carry pagers to alert them in the case of a call out.

The team undertakes extensive training especially in first aid. We have regular practices to keep our skills up to date, in addition most team members have the Mountain Rescue Council Casualty Care Award which involves more advanced procedures. This training is provided voluntarily and in their own time by NHS staff at Furness General Hospital. We also train regularly in search techniques, crag rescue techniques and evacuation over difficult terrain.

The team has a base in Old Furness Road, Coniston on the site of the old railway station. The team base was opened in 1982 and build by local subscription with generous help from the Trustee Savings Bank. The team has three land rovers, the newest two being funded by a generous donation from Hawkshead Ltd, the nationally acclaimed outdoor clothing company.

The team costs around £25,000 a year to run. The main sources of funds are collection boxes in pubs and local businesses, donations from the public and grateful casualties, donations from marshalling races and bag packing in supermarkets; and occasionally legacies. A sponsorship form can be downloaded from this website if you wish to compete in an event and donate sponsorship money to us. If your organisation runs fund raising events such as Christmas raffles and donates the proceeds to charity, please consider us as a recipient.

The team welcomes new members; to join you need to be physically fit, able to look after yourself in the mountains for at least 12 hours without help and preferably live within 5 miles of Coniston village. Both genders are welcome and there is no upper age limit.