Rescuers at the scene in Grisedale. Photo: Patterdale MRT

A walker’s family had to walk to a valley cottage to raise the alarm after she injured her ankle while hillwalking in the Lake District.

The 43-year-old was walking in Grisedale near Ruthwaite Lodge on Thursday when the incident happened about 3.45pm.

Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was alerted about 5.50pm.

A team spokesperson said: “With no phone signal, the husband and son walked down to Cruck Barn holiday cottage to raise the alarm, before returning to the casualty site.”

Sixteen team members make their way up to the family, a few hundred metres south of Ruthwaite Lodge.
“After assessing and splinting the woman’s left ankle, and administering analgesia, the team stretched her down to a waiting Land Rover ambulance,” the spokesperson said. “A further examination was conducted back at the team’s rescue centre and it was agreed that she would make her own way to hospital for an x-ray.”

While the rescue was underway, the team was alerted to the plight of a couple who were lost while walking the Fairfield Horseshoe. The pair became disoriented in cloud and started to descend from Hart Crag towards Hartsop Above How.

The spokesperson said: “The team used the GPS on the couple’s phone to identify their position and provided directions back onto their intended route. Their progress was then monitored until they returned to the valley.”

One team member was involved for about two hours. There was a similar incident the previous day when a group of three family members got lost trying to descend from Helvellyn’s summit in cloud.

Patterdale MRT again used the GPS facility on the son’s smartphone to pinpoint their location and direct them to safety, with three team members’ involvement for 2½ hours.