Pennine Way fell runners rescued in ‘harsh’ winter conditions

Visitors to Northumberland National Park are being urged to ‘adventure smart’ if heading to the hills this winter. On Tuesday 27 December, a couple of fell runners got into difficulties on the Border Ridge in harsh winter conditions yesterday. They had started in Kirk Yetholm and were hoping to follow the Pennine Way to Byrness. […]

What’s in your pack?

Team members walking up snow covered hill.

What’s in your pack? Once again winter conditions look set to return to Northumberland National Park this week. So it’s worthwhile checking you’ve got the right kit in your pack before heading out. In addition to your usual safety equipment, make sure you’ve got a survival shelter or bothy and a flask of warm fluids. […]

Training in the dark

Team members training rope skills in the dark.

Working in cold, dark environments makes it harder for everyone. This week some of our volunteers got together in Northumberland to work on their technical rope rescue skills. In addition to this included putting their casualty care skills into practice. It doesn’t take much for a slip or stumble to become quite a protracted and […]

Water team interoperability training

Photo of team members practising water rescue techniques

At the weekend, some of our volunteers were out training with members from @hmcoastguard These joint training opportunities allow both teams to develop resilience and interoperability procedures. Despite being a ‘mountain’ rescue team, we also support the Coastguard and our local fire and rescue services with water incidents including flooding.

60th anniversary of events leading to the formation of NNPMRT

Photo at the memorial cairn for Jock Scott and Willie Middlemas

A tragic incident which took the lives of two shepherds, Jock Scott and Willie Middlemas, led to the formation of our mountain rescue team. Last week, a small team of volunteers were joined by members of Jock’s family, local farmers and scouts from the 1st Whittingham Baden Powell Scouts to commemorate the 60th anniversary of […]

Contributing to a collective response to major incidents

Photo of emergency service partners

Last week one of our Duty Controllers teamed up with other emergency service partners to sharpen their collective response to major incidents – such as severe weather. Led by Northumbria Police, Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service, Northumberland County Council, the Environment Agency, and ourselves took part in the joint two-day-long event in Alnwick. The participants […]

New support team coordinator

Photo of our new Support Team Coordinator, Louise

A big welcome to our new support team coordinator Louise! Louise heads our support team; volunteers help keep the team moving with fundraising, representation at local events and even acting as ‘casualties’ when we train! The support team are always looking for new volunteers; it’s a great way to get involved! If you’re interested, drop […]