Keswick Mountain Rescue Team Flood Account

A spokesman for Keswick MRT gives an account of the flood efforts in this week's Keswick Reminder Newspaper. I will summarise it so you can appreciate how important it was that they helped with the flood victims.

They were contacted at 9.30 am Thurs 19th to give assistance where and when required.
Team and Deputy leaders went to the Silver Command Centre in the Council Chambers.
As the morning progressed tasks were relayed back to base at Lakeside car park. These included evacuations from Ravensfield Old People's Home, and houses at Crosthwaite Gardens, Glebe Close, High Hill, Limepots, Ashtree Avenue, St Kentigern's Close and Crosthwaite Road.
Many of these were made with the teams inflatable boat and they worked closely with the Fire Rescue Service and their boat. Once safely out of the water residents were taken to evacuation centres.
During the morning National Parks staff arrived with 3 more 4x4 vehicles and these were utilised too.
It soon dawned that more help was needed and usually they would ask Cockermouth MRT for help but that was out of the question so a call was made to Gold Command at Carlton Hall, Penrith and teams were mobilised from Kirkby Stephen, Teesdale and Swaledale + and RAF Sea King Helicopter was asked to search fields near Crosthwaite Church.
These teams initially worked in Keswick but were re-tasked to Cockermouth once Keswick became quieter.
News arrived of the bridge collapse in Workington and the missing police officer. Team personnel were sent to Workington in response to assist with the search.
Keswick team finally closed its base late on Saturday afternoon after receiving various non-urgent requests from Silver Command.
Further assistance was sent to Cockermouth on Monday between 11am and 5pm to be on call at Cockermouth Mountain Rescue base.
All in all, 40 hours of continuous cover, and at the height of the storm 60 personnel, were operating from Keswick base.

To summarise they feel the agencies worked well together and want to thank and applaud the Fire and Rescue Service, The National Park Authority, Teesdale, Swaledale and Kirkby Stephen Rescue Teams, the RAF, the 'Silver Command' and last, but by no means least, Bryson's Ltd for all the pies and cakes!

So there you have it, a clear demonstration of sheer courage and determination which should set all of your minds at rest if you venture onto the hills.  These heroes deserve our heart felt thanks and I want to say thank you from me too if you kept away from the hills whilst the team was needed elsewhere. The Cockermouth Team also deserve our thanks.

Not only did our MRT's perform miracles but no one was injured or killed on the fells around here.

Penrith Road last Thursday

This next report in bold text was on a local website promoting Cumbria Tourism today and I include this verbatim as it appeared.

KESWICK IS OPEN!!







Despite heavy flooding in Cumbria, Keswick is open for business.


Keswick’s town Mayor, Andrew Lysser, commented that Keswick would welcome all visitors; that the fells are still here to be walked and that shops and attractions are ready with a welcome.


Flooding in Keswick has subsided and currently our main restriction is the vicinity of our two closed bridges, Greta Bridge and Station Road bridge. Vehicular access to Keswick is from Penrith Road off the A66, and from the A591. The road to Borrowdale is now open, and the A591 to Bassenthwaite is open, but Ouse Bridge is closed.






Well yes the fells are and always have been ready to be walked because they are open and no signs say don't go up them, but the sensible thing to do is to let them dry out before venturing on them again. Heck, whats a few days? I'll tell you, the difference between a ruined footpath and a good one and some of those rocks up there will have become unstable from the force of the water so they need watching too. Best let it dry out or at least wait until the streams return to more normal levels and then get back on those hills with care. I see the Borrowdale Road is open now so don't forget my words of wisdom take it easy at first and that means sticking to the lower fells and watch how you go, if it looks unsafe come back and report it at the Moot Hall. Check your map carefully for stream crossings, they could be raging torrents and you might have to turn back, there is no shame in that. Be aware of the dangers and take extra clothing, a whistle, food, hot drinks and torches with spare batteries and these precautions are nothing if you don't take your map and compass and know how to use them. Don't go alone, two is safer and a small group is safer still. If you have a shelter take that too, Keswick Rambles leaders always carry one even on sunny days. If you take your mobile phone be aware that reception is not available throughout the fells, some places like valleys, especially parts of Borrowdale give NO signal. Check the weather forecast very carefully and be prepared to come down if the weather deteriorates significantly; don't blunder on regardless. If in doubt, don't venture out!

Can you all please cross your fingers for tomorrow

The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings again and they say the floods might return. Let us all hope that they do not. It cannot be as bad as last time because they are predicting less rainfall but any prolonged heavy rain is going to hamper the clearing up operations in Cockermouth and elsewhere. 

The information you receive on the news is not all accurate either because they leave out some of the detail of the destruction and problems on the roads.  For instance on one official government site it does not say that the bridges in Keswick are all still closed, but they are. I went to check today and they are covered in white tape with blue lettering saying Police; so clearly they are not to be crossed. Would you believe it if I said an elderly lady pushed her way through the temporary fencing across the footpath of the bridge and crossed.

I don't suppose she will be the only one but it does go to show that people will always take risks and also risk the lives of others if it all goes pear shaped. Selfish behaviour luckily does not seem to have been on locals' minds in Cockermouth where the whole community has been pulled together by this disaster. I saw a Keswick couple on the internet news in a reception centre in Cockermouth who used to have a local guest house but sold up to retire to a larger bungalow in Cockermouth. Well it was down by the river.......They were keeping cheerful too except he was worried about his MG cars.

A friend who has a guest house said to me today that one foreign guest asked to have an early morning call, when she asked why he said he was going up Scafell Pike with someone from Cockermouth. She said the road is closed up Borrowdale and he did not believe her at first. Well he was finally pursued when she rang his Cockermouth acquaintance and he confirmed his house was flooded and he was going nowhere.

These are just some of the crazy things which are happening. Another couple from the guest house, who were experienced walkers were going to go up Skiddaw. This is despite knowing that no rescue services are available as far as I am aware, but maybe I am wrong. Does anyone know if the Mountain Rescue are back at base and ready to go up the mountains in all these gales and torrential rain to rescue people again? I just checked their website and it only says that their last rescue was 7th November. I would have thought it was more like 19th, 20th and 21st.

The good news is that the main supermarket in Keswick is open again, albeit with no frozen food or anything much in the chiller cabinets as it was all thrown out. Also I hear that the buses are starting to run again on a restricted service but I don't know which ones yet. All the dogs which were left upstairs on their own in Cockermouth whilst their owners were rescued were rounded up and saved by the RSPCA too, so well done all those who helped our canine friends. Bella is suitably impressed.

Latest news on floods

This is a photograph of a holiday let in Keswick, I think the message it gives is quite clear, please don't come at the moment. The Mountain Rescue teams are all involved in the rescue of people from the flooding and cannot look after the mountains at this time so it is imperetive that people keep off the fells.  The local emergency services are doing a wonderful job but it is simply not fair to put extra pressure on them when they are stretched to the limit.

Add to that the fact that all bridges have been closed as far as I am aware because they need checking to see if they are safe and you begin to see the scale of this disaster.  Yes the waters have receded but no it is not back to normal nothing like.  Helicopters are still coming over the house so a good deal is going on behind the scenes and even Gordon Brown the Prime Minister is here! The main supermarket is closed and it was difficult to find potatoes today.  The shops cannot get all of their staff in to town due to so many roads and bridges being affected and damaged. Local people have spent two nights in emergency centres and presumably they will need to be found accommodation soon because they cannot keep staying in them much longer.

The damage is so great to some of our road infrastructure that I think it will take several weeks for the bridges to all be usable again, and what will happen in the meantime is anyone's guess. I was appalled to hear that cars had been turning up at Cockermouth just to see the damage....This is stupid, we do not need this kind of behaviour, the best thing is to help in a positive manner and if that means staying away then that is the best option. Clearly at this dreadful time it is our duty to act responsibly. Sight seeing is unacceptable.

Keswick is Flooded

The police have asked people who have booked B & B's not to come to Keswick because there is only one road open and it is essential it is kept free for emergency vehicles. So please think carefully if you intend to come and check out the latest reports which are being shown on many websites and Radio Cumbria etc. This photo shows you what it is like at Booths where we normally catch the buses for our guided walks.  There was about a foot of water at 1pm today but miraculously Booths was still open for business providing you did not mind sploshing through the water to get to the main doors.

This shot shows you the river pouring over the top of the flood defences as the retaining wall clearly has been broached.  My friends have a house just opposite and I could not go down any further to see if they were flooded but it was a certainty I am sure.

So I do not know what will happen tonight as more rain is due to fall into the early hours of the morning then it is supposed to stop on Friday but pick up again and rain on Saturday and Sunday I think.  Clearly, Keswick is in a bad way and it is not a good idea to come here for any reason least of all for walking the fells.

I know that tomorrow night is supposed to be the big switch on of the Keswick Lights with Paul Mooney the Radio Cumbria weatherman but I should imagine that might be in doubt, I could be wrong though. I suggest you check it out on Radio Cumbria first as today was market day and no stalls had been set out and even the staff at the Tourist Information Centre at the Moot Hall had locked it up and gone home by early afternoon. So too had many shops because the staff needed to get home. So most of Keswick shops were not available and I only noticed a few who stayed open including George Fishers. Meanwhile, the rain was not affecting the pubs because they all looked to be open but trade did not look exactly brisk.

I wish you luck if you try and get here!