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BMC and mountain rescue teams advise all climbers and hill walkers to stay in their home area and put all climbing and hill walking on hold. 

Last week, the government advice was ambiguous, and over the weekend thousands of people headed to the hills, mountains and coasts of the UK. 

Today, the message from the governments, mountain rescue teams, outdoor industry, local communities, police and doctors is very simple: stay local and only travel for essential purposes. 

During his daily briefing on Sunday, Boris Johnson stated: “It is very important for people’s mental and physical wellbeing that they should be able to get out and exercise if they possibly can. Parks, open spaces are so absolutely crucial for our country and for our society, but when we do that we have to do it responsibly.”

However, he warned the public that they need to follow social distancing guidelines, or the Government will be forced to restrict access to more open spaces.

The BMC advice to all climbers and hill walkers is now simple: climbing and hill walking are not
activities requiring essential travel. Stay local, and put your climbing and hillwalking on hold.

Dave Turnbull, BMC CEO, said: “We never thought we’d be telling our members not to go climbing or hill walking”