This warm and sunny evening saw our weekly training taking place at Blackleach Country Park, Hill Top, Walkden. (The location of a recent successful search incident on Saturday 21st June, incident 63/2014)

Organised primarily by team member Martin Battersby (formerly locally resident to the venue) and with assistance from equally nearby resident Alan James, one of our Life Vice Presidents, tonight’s training took the form of an orienteering and area familiarity exercise.

The fourteen Call Out list members and one Team Probationary member actively taking part tonight, were each given a 1:5000 Orienteering Map and 1.25,000 Ordnance Survey Map of Blackleach Country Park, with twenty four points to navigate to and identify, commencing at 20.00hrs.

We were joined for tonight’s exercise by Joy Ratcliffe, a Trainee team member in Cheshire Search and Rescue Team.

Those taking part tonight would like to thank Martin Battersby and Alan James for their considerable time involved in pre-planning and organising this exercise.

And as for Call Out list team member young Kris Kilshaw, well he was last seen in Tigers Clough (River Douglas) at Rivington – but that’s another story!