I don't often sleep in bothies when I'm out in the hills, preferring the privacy and cosiness of my tent, but I do like to visit them, perhaps for a lunch stop or to briefly escape the rain. But recently I did end up over-nighting in one to escape some extremely wet weather.
For those uninitiated in the Scottish outdoors, l should explain that bothies are basic, open shelters out in the hills which anyone is free to stay in for a night or two. Generally they are very old buildings with a wee bit of history attached to them and often set in stunning, remote locations. All this sounds good but the reality is they are cold and dark and infested by mice. You may not see the little chaps during the day but, boy, do they party after dark. Despite these negatives, it's wonderful to see a bothy appear on the horizon on a long walk because they do convey a pleasant sense of place and homeliness. Needless to say, some of them have achieved legendary status amongst hill folk, for example Shenavall Bothy which nestles below one of Scotland's shapeliest peaks, An Teallach. And some are simply lovely places like Suardalan Bothy near Glenelg, pictured above.
As well as the rampant mice population, the following standard items are found in every bothy:
- wooden sleeping platform to keep you and your belongings off the floor (see mice above)
- fireplace and often a stock of dry wood
- leftover food from previous bothy guests (explains the mice above)
- candlesticks (often an empty whisky bottle but often something quite elegant)
- a spade for those . .. ahem . . visits outside
- a bothy book where all guests record the vivid stories of their stay (usually involves the mice above)
I ended up having a bothy night after four days of rain put the rivers into spate and blocked my walk west. l headed round to A' Chuil Bothy in Glen Dessarry to camp on my favourite camp spot beside the river. But on this occasion my favourite spot was actually IN the river. The ground all around was sodden so I creaked open the door of the bothy, a former shepherd's cottage. Aside from the mice, there was only one other occupant - a rather posh chap from Kent with a BBC accent. He was in the area to bag some Munros. When l entered, he was bandaging his shins which were gushing blood as he'd fallen crossing a swollen river. As well as this, much of his gear was sopping wet. He must have been really relieved to have made it to the bothy.
A' Chuil Bothy has two separate rooms so we took one each and settled in for the night. The wind rattled the windows, the rain battered the roof and the mice sounded like they were tearing the place apart. But l was quite cosy and comfy in my sleeping bag. As I drifted off to sleep, I could hear the fire crackle in the other room and the voices from my housemate's long wave radio. It was rather nice and reminded me of being put to bed as a kid but lying awake listening to your parents' voices and the TV downstairs.
Next morning rain swept across the view from the bothy window in wind-driven sheets. The man from Kent decided to stay on and dry out. l decided to trek out east, said farewell and creaked closed the bothy door.
Fact File
Start/finish: Glenfinnan
Public transport: Trains to Glenfinnan from Fort William.
Route: A road then track heads north from the station up Glen Finnan, signed for Strathan. Beyond Corryhully Bothy it becomes a path with high pass to trek over into Gleann Cuirnean. In spate, I would cross the river high up not where the crossing point is shown on the OS map. The trail crosses the River Pean by bridge then enters forestry. Turn right on the forest track then left at the next track junction. This leads to the bothy - after a little under 4km look for a small cairn and path on the right heading down into the woods.
