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
Last Wednesday evening, four Bolton MRT members joined colleagues from Rossendale & Pendle MRT, Holcombe Harriers, and family and friends of the late Andy Haines at the unveiling of an automated external defibrillator (defib) at Peel Tower on Holcombe Moor.
Bolton MRT were called to an incident on Holcombe Moor in November 2024. Andy had suffered a cardiac arrest and - despite the best efforts of members from both mountain rescue teams, other medical professionals, and his running colleagues - he sadly died. In his memory, local charity Restart the Heart has raised the funds to supply and install the defibrillator, which is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
In an emergency, the nearest defibrillator can be found by using the search function at www.defibfinder.uk
On Saturday, three of Bolton MRT’s Remote Rescue Medical Technicians travelled to Catterick, North Yorkshire, to take part in a trauma study day. This event, organised by Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team, saw members from 12 teams take part in a wide range of scenarios based on real incidents the various teams had been called to. It was great to learn from other teams and also to pass on some of our own knowledge, and to get hands on with the panoply of kit that other teams use.
We send our thanks to the organisers and all those who took part for making it a cracking day!
P.S. Many happy returns to Bolton MRT member Jane.
The team is at Armed Forces Day at Victoria Square in Bolton today. Why not come down and meet us to learn about the work that we do? You can try your hand at some of our games. Can you throw the line into a bucket, or can you break the record for the longest amount of time you can do CPR on our simulator? Will you be top of the league and claim victory?
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.