Lake District beauty spot selfies blamed for rescue callouts

Tourists under the age of 24, often wanting to get selfies at beauty spots, are the group most likely to need help from mountain rescuers.

Ordnance Survey said three of Cumbria’s mountain rescue teams, including Keswick and Wasdale, dealt with 12% of all callouts last year in England and Wales.

Spokesman Nick Giles said young people were drawn to the Lake District after seeing images on Instagram or TikTok, but are sometimes not prepared for the trek there and back.

He said they were often too reliant on mobile phones and “ill-equipped” to deal with getting lost or into difficulty if the weather changed.

Mountain Rescue England and Wales said callouts had risen by nearly a quarter in the last five years and the under-24s were the most likely to need help.

Mr Giles said: “People are just wanting to explore and are wanting to get that selfie and usually it’s fine getting to these places, but a lot of the trouble happens when people are trying to get back from these locations.

“The Lake District is incredibly popular at this time of year, with some fantastic hills, and there are some real Instagram spots where you can see for miles and miles.

“They don’t have the right equipment, the right data or map – that’s when there can be problems.”

Chief executive of Mountain Rescue England and Wales Mike Park said the service had a callout every day in 2024.

He said in previous years those who got into most difficulty were people aged between 50-54, but now the younger generation topped the list.

He also said some navigational apps were not “suitable for an outdoor environment”.