A FAMILY group of cyclists spent a ‘cold, wet and unpleasant’ night out in the Lake District after hiring bikes ‘against the advice of the bike shop owner’.

The six-strong party, some of whom were as young as 16 years old, intended to ride to the Wasdale Head Inn to meet other family members on Tuesday.

A spokesman for Keswick Mountain Rescue Team (KMRT), which was later called out to assist the group, said they did this against the advice of the Windermere bike shop owner, who told them ‘the weather conditions and terrain were unsuitable for the trip’.

The KMRT spokesman said: “They did not give a detailed route-plan and had unsuitable clothing for the conditions and took minimal provisions.”

When the group had not turned up at the inn by 9pm, a family member reported them overdue.

“Many attempts were made to contact members of the group by calling and messaging all of their six mobile phones,” the KMRT spokesman said.

“Repeated attempts were also made to locate the party by using the ‘phone-find’ technology used by mountain rescue teams. All with no success.

“Throughout the remainder of the evening the four team leaders from the Wasdale, Keswick, Duddon and Furness and Langdale/ Ambleside teams discussed the incident in detail.

“The conclusion was that, given no route description, we would be looking for a needle in a haystack and that the party may well not be in the mountains at all.

“As such, members from some of the teams drove the roads most likely to have been ridden by a cycle party, with no success.”

At 1.30am on August 5 the mountain rescue teams were stood down. The search restarted at 7am.

At 8.30am rescuers were informed by police that the group had finally arrived at the Wasdale Head Inn following a ‘very cold, wet and unpleasant’ night.

The beleaguered party said they had gone into the mountains from Langdale and had planned to travel to the inn via Esk Hause and Sty Head.

They had pressed on as far as the boulder fields of Broad Crag, before abandoning the bikes and continuing on till they reached the Corridor Route, a popular way up Scafell Pike.

They waited until first light, then finished their journey to the Wasdale Head Inn.

The KMRT spokesman reminded people to ask themselves three questions before venturing into the Lake District:

- 1: Do I have the right gear?

- 2: Do I know what the weather will be like?

- 3: Am I confident I have the knowledge and skills for the day?

Visit the website adventuresmart.uk for more information about staying safe in the outdoors.