Seven go to Dartmoor

First attended by the team in November 2006, this afternoon seven team members in our Bolton MRT Landrover Ambulance ’Bolton Mobile 4’ commenced the very long journey down south to Okehampton, to take part at the invitation of the Dartmoor Rescue Group, in this years DRG Training Weekend based on the rugged and remote moorland terrain of Dartmoor.

This constitutes the longest distance out of area exercise deployment that the team currently undertakes (excepting our Winter Mountaineering Social week to the Scottish Highlands every year, although in the late 1960s and early 1970s the team travelled upto Torridon in NW Scotland on training exercises !)

This exercise is very beneficial to the team, enabling Bolton team members to broaden their overall experience base, be introduced to other MRTs and to be exposed to different working methodologies.

The exercise itself commenced on Saturday 17th November, with a multi casualty scenerio being played out on Dartmoor. Taking part in the exercise were the four Mountain Rescue Teams that together make up the Dartmoor Rescue Group, the Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA), that incidentally saw much service at the summer floods of this year in Tewkesbury/Gloucester area, Her Majesty’s Coast Guard, members from Hampshire Search & Rescue, Wiltshire Search & Rescue our seven team members and an RAF Search and Rescue Sea King helicopter taking part from its base at the Royal Marines Barracks Chivenor.

On Sunday all present took part in an orienteering exercise.

STOP PRESS Late on Saturday night news came from deepest, darkest Dartmoor that Bolton MRT members had won 5 shields & a compass in the ’Skittles’ contest. Not only had our younger members Neil W, Neil R & Matthew shown their winning skills in a traditional non-electronic game, the two older members Ken & John showed the youngsters, how they used to keep entertained in the ’Good Olde Days’. Congratulations lads, but what of the two Bolton MRT females, were they involved in a wine tasting session elsewhere !!!!