Wasdale Head Inn owner ‘disappointed not angry’ over unpaid bill

The owner of a remote hotel by England’s highest peak has spoken out over an unpaid bill left by two rescued walkers.

The Wasdale Head Inn, the closest hotel to Scafell Pike in the Lake District, took in two walkers rescued by volunteers of Wasdale Mountain Rescue team.

Despite promising to pay for a room they were offered, they left the bill unpaid and gave the inn false contact details.

Owner Nigel Burton, said: “I think I am disappointed rather than angry.”

He added the circumstances were “hard to believe”.

“On the one hand you can always laugh at this, in the sense that it’s so unbelievable that you can’t think it actually happened, but it did, ” he said.

According to the hotel the rescued walkers also tried to get a free breakfast, a lift to a train station and left with headtorches belonging to the mountain rescue team, which they are yet to return.

Burton said that especially in the summer, the hotel deals with walkers in need of help multiple times a week, although they may not always need mountain rescue support.

He said: “We stay open 365 days a year even when, frankly, from a commercial point of view it’s pointless, because we feel we’ve got a duty to be there when somebody comes down the mountain and it’s nine miles to the next nearest place.”

He added his team wanted to move on from the experience and acknowledged the mountain rescue teams were the ones giving up their time and risking their lives to save others.

“One bad incident like this isn’t going to change our attitude, or how we serve the community and the climbers that frankly make Wasdale what it is.”

Wasdale Mountain Rescue said the incident happened on 29 December and four weeks on the men had yet to make good on their promise to pay the £130 bill.

A spokesman for the team said they had not been able to speak to them since, despite attempts.

However, since going public with their experience, they had raised £2,000 in about 24 hours for the charity.

“We are bowled over by the generosity of [people’s] support,” the spokesman said.

Although the Wasdale Head Inn had already told them it would take the hit for the loss, the mountain rescue team said it wanted to reimburse them.

Any extra money will go towards the running of the service, which is made up of volunteers.

Burton said the bad experience would not deter them from helping anyone who comes into the pub and hotel in need of assistance.

He said: “Given this is the first time it’s happened in 45 years I suppose on one hand you can learn from it, on the other hand it’s a life lesson for us too – and not one to worry about really.”