Some Scottish bothies

A well-known one in the Central Highlands. 09/06/06

Not far from the previous, and equally well-known. 27/04/99

A semi-subterranean one in the Schiehallion area. 04/06/06

. . . and the house rules.

In the Schiehallion area. 04/06/06 ~ The main building and the large lean-to are locked, but a small wooden lean-to at the far end is left open.

Near the top of a hill in the Schiehallion area. 19/06/04 ~ A curious rough-hewn structure which gives the impression that a rockfall has been invested with the vital spark and has heaved itself into the semblance of a bothy.

Yet another Schiehallion bothy. 20/02/00

One in the Eastern Cairngorms. 03/06/82

. . . and its snug interior. 19/06/97

In a Cairngorm corrie. 02/06/82

To the south of the Cairngorms.19/07/82~ The enamel AA signs have led some to imagine that this was once a hotel, but in fact it was built around 1870 as an estate bothy, albeit a superior one to which was added a central heating system, and some of the pipework was still extant. The signs were, I believe, liberated from a hotel in Blair Atholl.

The one you can see Canisp from . . . 06/06/84

. . . and Suilven.14/06/88~ The wisp of cloud on Caisteal Liath is the last remnant of the memorable inversion which features in the Northern Highlands gallery.

Halloween in a Kintail bothy . . .31/10/95~ From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggity beasties . . .

. . . this one.02/11/95 ~ In Elizabeth Allan's Burn on the Hill there is an interesting photo, unattributed and undated but perhaps from the 1920s, showing this in-bye land under cultivation, with 4 neat coilacks of hay stacked, and the ruins below and right of the cottage a trim barn and byre.

In the far north-west. 27/04/82

. . . and later that evening. 27/04/82

The one on Jura. 04/06/88

In the wilds beyond Glen Affric. 19/05/95

. . . and again, in winter. 24/01/98

. . . later that evening 24/01/98 ~ Orion on the R, Procyon the bright star to the L, Alhena (γ of Gemini) near the top. The exposure time was around 20 minutes, I think. If you're surprised at how colourful the stars appear, well, so was I. The bright, infernal light from within was just a candle on the window ledge - it certainly wasn't the fire anyway, which was a damp, miserable affair, where the input of energy far exceeded the output.

. . . and the utility room thereof. 05/96

In the Strathcarron area. 17/05/95 ~ Lodge locked, cottage open.

. . . and its interior, lately remodelled. 09/06/05

A very well-known one in the Northern Highlands. 26/05/00

The one on Mull. 15/11/81

The one in Wester Ross that was formerly a Youth Hostel . . . 23/08/06

. . . and its striking interior decor.

Somewhere in the Central Highlands.31/05/03 ~ I could tell you exactly where, but then, sorry, I'd have to kill you.

Interior of the previous. 31/05/03~ There was a major technical problem with this photograph, which would normally have meant an immediate binning, but it's the only such one I've got. I started trying to repair the damage in PS but ran out of patience.

Ruighe nan Saorach, by Loch Errochty. 06/06/06 ~ "All the windows and doors are sound and the cottage offers a good dry shelter". Well, that was what Irvine Butterfield said in his Survey of Shelters, but that was published in 1974. I approached it from its good side, having traversed Beinn a'Chuallaich from Kinloch Rannoch, and it did look perfectly sound, so I was sorely disappointed to find it in this terminal state of collapse.

White Cottage, Glen Affric, when it was a bothy. 31/12/79

White Cottage now, a holiday let. 02/09/05 ~ Take away the west extension, the north wing, the porch, the outbuildings, the flagpole, replace the tiles with tin, and the bothy is still there.

The Nest of Fannich. 14/04/80 ~ Most of this handsome house was locked and kept for estate use, but enough was left open to make a very comfortable bothy (right-hand room, kitchen, and one or two bedrooms). It was gutted by fire in 1991 and is now a roofless ruin. A tragic loss, and it is hard not to wish the culprit/s a well-merited roasting in hell.

Inside the Nest, larger gable window. 15/04/80 ~ Not very informative, sorry, but it's the only one I have.

The Nest, 20 years on. 10/04/00

In the Fannich area. 24/05/00 ~ In June 1927 the Rev. Ronnie Burn (the 2nd Munroist) was lodging with the Mathesons here when a letter arrived summoning him to the Cluanie Inn to do some unpaid guiding for an acquaintance. Ever obliging, he set off on foot the next day, southwards through the hills to Kinlochewe, over by the Coulin Pass to Glen Carron and on to Luibaghoil (near Bendronaig Lodge) where he spent the night in the keeper's cottage. Next day he carried on by (I would guess) Maol-bhuidhe, Iron Lodge, and Alltbeithe, arriving at Cluanie that evening. The Ronnie Challenge - 60 miles over 2 days. Any takers?

The interior as it was in 1980, complete with a rather foosty carpet, and perhaps not long abandoned. 16/04/80

Fainasheen (Feithe na Sine), with Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair. 16/04/80 ~ Within living memory this was a bothy, but even by 1980 it was in a state of collapse, of use only to the desperate (but what a situation!). Its dilapidation has continued, and the chimney stack and what remained of the roof are now gone.

In a northern glen . . . 23/04/98

~ . . . wherein one finds a cosy interior . . .

. . . Hector the Bothy Inspector . . .

. . . and an interesting entry in the bothy book by Iain MacKay of Pait (see Isolation Shepherd by Iain R Thomson).

In an Angus glen. 10/94 ~ Don't know if it's generally unlocked, but it was when I passed it, on the way to another bothy on the other side of the hill . . .

. . . this one in fact, on a lonely Angus moor . . . 10/94

. . . where I spent a peaceful evening. ~ The 2 litre bottle contained peaty water, in case you were wondering.

In a boggy western glen. 26/02/95

. . . and again. 26/02/95

. . . and inside it. 26/02/95 ~ Three nights here, of which the first two were seriously perishing (regardless of the apparent warm cosy glow), with only miserably frozen/sodden bogwood for the fire, but then came a great thaw, and the glen below flooded to an awesome extent, to not very far from the bothy door (over 300m from the river, normally, and 20m above it). Luckily my way home took me uphill.

In a western glen. The bothy with a 50p-in-the-slot leccy meter. 4.30pm, 26/10/80