A married couple drowned after falling into a waterfall while hiking at a beauty spot in Wales on a New Year break, an inquest heard.
Rachael Patching, 33, and her wife Helen, 52, are believed to have slipped on wet rocks as they admired the waterfalls in the Brecon Beacons National Park.
The pair, who wed seven years ago, had travelled 200 miles from their home in Sevenoaks, Kent, for the holiday in the ‘great outdoors’.
They were on a five-mile ‘moderate to challenging’ walk in January 2023 when tragedy struck at the dramatic Sgwyd Isaf Clun Gwyn waterfall.
Assistant Glamorgan coroner Rachel Knight said the scope of the inquest would include looking into the safety of paths around the waterfalls to prevent future deaths.
Both women were keen wild water swimmers but their families say they would not have entered the river at that time of year because the water was too cold.
The inquest heard it was likely one of the women slipped into the icy water and her wife got into difficulties trying to rescue her.
Other walkers raised the alarm after spotting the women dead in the water. A rucksack and walking poles were discovered nearby.
Rachael and Helen Patching, 33 and 52, were pulled from icy waters at the Four Waterfalls Walk in the national park at Brecon Beacons last month
Police were deployed to Ystradfellte Falls in January 2023 on the rugged Four Waterfalls Walk in Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales
Police found their car in a nearby car park in an area known and advertised as Waterfall Country, which attracts 250,000 visitors a year.
The tragedy unfolded on January 4, 2023, at the Sgwyd Y Pannwr waterfall. Helen’s body was recovered by police the next day.
Rachael’s body was found downstream by a kayaker four days later. Post-mortem examinations found both women drowned.
The inquests heard there are signs along way-marked trails warning walkers there have been previous fatalities and accidents in the River Neath which has strong underwater currents.
Mountain leader and tourist guide Andrew Lamb, a veteran of the trails around the waterfalls, called for well-maintained footpaths and one circular clockwise route around the waterfalls.
He told the hearing: ‘It needs to be a well-surfaced route with signposts all the way. If you go to Europe, that’s what you’ll find because authorities make it safe for visitors.’
Coroner Ms Knight apologised to the families, saying the inquest would have ‘opened the wounds’ three years after their loved ones drowned.
She said: ‘I find it is likely that Helen and Rachael were well equipped for hiking with rucksacks, walking poles and suitable outdoor attire.
Grieving families described the women as ‘a truly admirable credit to themselves and society’ in a moving joint tribute at the time of their deaths (pictured: the couple at their wedding in 2018)
Police found Helen’s body day after the alarm was raised and Rachael was found about five miles downstream four days laterÂ
‘It is unlikely they were there for any wild swimming. Their shoes were not left behind.
‘It is more likely that one lady entered the water accidentally and the other took off her rucksack to attempt a rescue.’
Ms Knight said emergency phones to report emergencies should be installed and improvements made to pathways and signage.
She said she would be making a Regulation 28 Prevention of Future Deaths Report following the tragic loss of the married couple and the death of walker Corey Longdon, 26, from Gloucester, at the same spot a year later.
Helen worked with the prison and probation service and had a ‘vigorous love of the outdoors and adventure,’ the inquest in Pontypridd was told.
Rachael was a police conduct investigator and volunteered at Battersea Dogs Home where a plaque was put up in her memory.
The court heard both women were vegans, passionate about animal welfare and proud members of the LGBT community.
The families of the couple paid tribute to the loving couple whose ‘endless laughter will be forever remembered by all who had the honour to know them’.
Mountain leader and tourist guide Andrew Lamb called for better surfaced paths in the area in the wake of the deaths
Their family said: ‘We are devastated to have suffered such an immeasurable loss following the news of Rachael and Helen’s passing at just 33 and 52.
‘They were such a devoted, selfless, and loving couple having had an immensely positive impact on all those they met.
‘Their love for animals and dedication to caring for them so lovingly over the years made them a truly admirable credit to themselves and society.
‘Their endless laughter will be forever remembered by all who had the honour to know them.
‘There are no words that can express enough how highly they were both thought of by family members, friends, and colleagues.’
Making her recommendations, Coroner Ms Knight said: ‘I am concerned that the phone signal is poor to non-existent at many of the busiest and most remote locations where most serious incidents occur.
‘A solution to this issue should be considered so that help can be summoned as quickly as possible.
‘I am concerned that the paths are not sufficiently clearly explained for members of the public with minimal hiking experience.
‘It is concerning that people do not understand what the waypoint markers relate to and that leads me to the view that better and perhaps more frequently placed explanations are required.’
