Keswick mountain rescue team were called out twice in wild and windy conditions on Friday – once on water and on the high fells.
Their first call was to two men washed up on Lord’s Island after their canoe capsized on Derwentwater on Friday afternoon.
The pair were seen swimming by a member of the public after their canoe turned turtle between St Herbert’s and Rampsholm Islands.
They drifted downwind in the gale force winds, which were creating large waves on the lake, and washed up on Lord’s Island.
A Keswick MRT member, who works at Derwentwater Marina, took a rescue boat direct to the island to pick up the casualties and bring them to shore at Stable Hills.
Meantime further resources were deployed from KMRT, police, fire and the North West Ambulance Service in case they were needed.
Besides being a little chilly after a long swim the casualties were unharmed.
Later they were called to Brandreth where a woman had been blown off her feet in the ferocious winds and injured her hip on some rocks.
A call for help was routed through to the Cockermouth team who asked Keswick mountain rescue team to support with a stretcher carry.
The Coastguard helicopter who attended the earlier lake incident went to investigate a possible landing near to the casualty but with low cloud and a strong, gusty wind had to abandon the attempt.
Both teams parked on the mine track above Honister and made their way in difficult conditions to the casualty site near to a group of tarns on Gillercomb Head.
The casualty was dressed for the conditions, but was getting colder. A storm shelter was used as protection whilst the casualty was treated and pain relief provided.
She was then packaged on a stretcher ready for the evacuation. Although returning back to the Honister mine was a shorter route it would have been hazardous due to the strong gusts.
A decision was therefore made to sledge the stretcher down some grassy slopes into Gillercomb, and out of the wind.
From Gillercomb there was a tricky descent down the path next to Sourmilk Gill to Seathwaite in Borrowdale.
Much muscle was involved in manhandling the stretcher down awkward rocky steps but eventually the team made the handover to the ambulance at Seathwaite.
