Thorpe Cloud Revisited

For the third time in five days, the team have been called to Dovedale to assist an injured walker.

In the latest incident on Wednesday (15^th August), a woman and her family were descending the path from the summit of the 287m high Thorpe Cloud  towards the famous Dovedale Stepping Stones, when she slipped and injured her ankle.

The DLRAA Air Ambulance and an EMAS road ambulance crew also attended the incident, providing initial treatment as 12 members of the rescue team evacuated the woman by stretcher and rope system down to the valley below and across the river to a waiting ambulance. She was then taken directly to the Royal Derby Hospital for further treatment.

The team were called to the stepping stones the previous day after an 82 year old woman had fallen into the river. On that occasion, the team were stood down whilst en route as the attending ambulance crew managed to rescue and recover the woman.

The latest spate of visits to the popular beauty spot started on Saturday, when a 25 year old woman had slipped on the same path  from the summit to the stepping stones, also injuring her ankle. Again, the team were used to evacuate the woman from the hill by a stretcher and rope system.

This is now the eighth time this year that the team have been called to incidents occurring at this location, with the majority of calls being to people breaking or injuring an ankle whilst descending the Thorpe Cloud path.  A team spokesman said: “The high number of calls to this area is not so much due to the terrain being particularly hazardous, but due to the sheer volume of people who visit the area and choose to climb the iconic hill.  It’s perhaps one of the most visited beauty spots in the whole of the Peak District, so it’s not that surprising that we carry out so many rescues here. However, the steepness of the path does catch many people unawares and we advise people to take extra care when descending.”