Surely if they were on the descent from Ingleborough to Horton in Ribblesdale they were almost finished the walk? Was it really necessary to call for rescue?

Better to be safe than sorry , safety is paramount , always best to get home in one piece

I was asked a few weeks ago by a small group of Three Peaks Walkers 'Is this the way back to Horton in Ribblesdale?'.......they were on the track below Ingleborough Cave heading for Clapham. Way off course. I ended up taking them by car from Clapham back to Horton.

Some people should not be allowed out of their house unsupervised.

I might suggest some people should not be allowed near a keyboard unsupervised.

no skills no idea on a unbelievably well marked route!

Got to love people who are wise after the event sitting at home knowing nothing of the circumstances.

"Mountains are not fair or unfair, they are just dangerous." Reinhold Messner

If "safety is paramount" - paramount definition, 'more important than anything else' - then best stay at home.

Interesting that the comments all focus on the two walkers, but there is no mention of the caver mentioned in the same article who got into difficulties and initiated a call out.

In respect of the walkers, perhaps the best approach could be the current thinking of the Mountain Training Association on Transformational Leadership. Rather than being too judgemental perhaps it would better to inspire, enable and develop the two ladies who had an epic.
After all who hasn't made a mistake, maybe all they need is some advice and encouragement to enjoy the hills in a safer way.

There is a vast amount of 'how to do it' information and 'training courses' out there for anyone who is interested.

People are generally less likely to head off to Ireland in a sailing boat or descend into a cave without gaining some level of training/experience.

Safety is paramount in everyday life , going to work, taking the kids to school or crossing the road , so yes your own & others safety is more important than anything else but it doesn't mean you have to stay at home . There's far to much of the don't let them on the hills / out the house brigade on these pages

Nigel, I think that the "don't let them on the hills / out the house brigade" as you describe them, are possibly just pissed off with people miss-using the services of volunteer rescue team members.

We hear the old refrain 'everyone can make a mistake', but some of those mistakes are being made by people who have clearly made little effort to learn necessary skills or gain the required experience.

(Much can be learned on safe lower hills before heading to the high ones.)

Remember, rescue teams, by long standing mountaineering tradition, usually don't criticise those they rescue, which means others may have to say what they can't.

Exactly right Ian