Missing walkers spent freezing night in Cairngorms in bivvy bag
A couple who undertook a New Year's Day walk in the Highlands misjudged how long it would take and were forced to take shelter.
Monday 2 January 2017 17:36, UK
Two walkers are lucky to be alive after getting lost and spending the night in the snowy Cairngorms national park in northern Scotland.
The couple were found on Monday morning after a major search involving a rescue helicopter.
A bivvy bag the 60-year-old man and 57-year-old woman had with them "probably saved their lives" from the freezing temperatures, one rescuer said.
The pair, believed to be from England, had not been seen since New Year's Day morning when they set off for a walk with their dog, which also survived.
The Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team's leader Willie Anderson said: "They misjudged how long their walk would take them yesterday and then the cloud closed in and it started snowing.
"They were a bit disorientated but at least they had a bivvy bag to shelter them. That probably saved their lives."
Mr Anderson said rescuers walked with the couple to a vehicle which took them on to the national park's funicular railway.
He said they are due to be checked over by medics but they were safe and well.
A team from the RAF was also involved in the search.