Bothys

On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 22:30:09 +0000, Peewiglet <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I've been reading around, but can't quite manage to get an impression
of what it's generally like to stay in Scottish bothies. Naturally it
all depends on who happens to be there, on any given night, but do
they tend, on average, to be fairly peaceful, or are they often filled
with drunken, over-excited youths arriving at midnight and noisily
cooking breakfast at 2am? Descriptions seem to vary a lot!

Many thanks for any help.

You'd be a braver wee piglet than me if you stayed in one. I am
convinced they are a magnet for axe murderers (and nematodes).

Honestly, I'm scared of my own shadow at times and would feel far
safer in an Akto, playfully bending in the gale-force wind, than in a
"Heeeeeere's Johnnnny!" bothy!

Judith

On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 22:43:58 +0000, Judith
<[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've been reading around, but can't quite manage to get an impression
of what it's generally like to stay in Scottish bothies. Naturally it
all depends on who happens to be there, on any given night, but do
they tend, on average, to be fairly peaceful, or are they often filled
with drunken, over-excited youths arriving at midnight and noisily
cooking breakfast at 2am? Descriptions seem to vary a lot!

Many thanks for any help.

You'd be a braver wee piglet than me if you stayed in one. I am
convinced they are a magnet for axe murderers (and nematodes).

Honestly, I'm scared of my own shadow at times and would feel far
safer in an Akto, playfully bending in the gale-force wind, than in a
"Heeeeeere's Johnnnny!" bothy!

Omigod...... there was me trying to find a refuge from all the Large
Grey Men patrolling the serried ranks of Aktos littering the glens,
and now the prospect of bothies seems even scarier!!!

:-)

I can guarantee right now that if there's any occasion upon which I
spend the night alone in a bothy next May then I'm going to be lying
on my mattress all night with my eyes propped open, watching the door
for a Jack Nicholson lookalike...!

Eeek!

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \ pee AT [guessthisbit].co.uk

Quoted message said:

I've been reading around, but can't quite manage to get an impression
of what it's generally like to stay in Scottish bothies. Naturally it
all depends on who happens to be there, on any given night, but do
they tend, on average, to be fairly peaceful, or are they often filled
with drunken, over-excited youths arriving at midnight and noisily
cooking breakfast at 2am? Descriptions seem to vary a lot!

The experience varies too..

Probably the worst on my latest trip (no names)

I usually spend new year in a bothy, but this time I was in a private
house but it was a very bothy like atmosphere.

Was assigned a political stance and persecuted for it
Was involved in a turf war when folk tried to take over and resulted
in a git in a kilt weilding a chainsaw.. Home now, and just had a
message that a pine martin had been caught sneaking about the
building.

Anything could happen.....

Richard Webb

Seriously, they are usually empty these days - fashions have changed.
What ever you do, hang your food high

"Peewiglet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I've been reading around, but can't quite manage to get an impression
of what it's generally like to stay in Scottish bothies. Naturally it
all depends on who happens to be there, on any given night, but do
they tend, on average, to be fairly peaceful, or are they often filled
with drunken, over-excited youths arriving at midnight and noisily
cooking breakfast at 2am? Descriptions seem to vary a lot!

They are really good places, very basic, nothing at all like alpine huts!
Most bothies are very remote and hence only seem to attract the serious hill
goer. Getting a good fire going and drinking lots of whisky seems to be the
done think. I'm not a whisky person myself, much prefer lager, but theirs
something very special about having a few wee nips in a remote bothy!

The message <[email hidden]>
from [email hidden] (RJ Webb) contains these words:

Quoted message said:

Seriously, they are usually empty these days - fashions have changed.
What ever you do, hang your food high

To keep it out of reach of the bears?

--
Roger Chapman so far this year - nothing

The message <[email hidden]>
from [email hidden] (RJ Webb) contains these words:

Quoted message said:

Seriously, they are usually empty these days - fashions have changed.
What ever you do, hang your food high

To keep it out of reach of the bears?

--
Roger Chapman so far this year - nothing

Peewiglet said:

I've been reading around, but can't quite manage to get an impression
of what it's generally like to stay in Scottish bothies. Naturally it
all depends on who happens to be there, on any given night, but do
they tend, on average, to be fairly peaceful, or are they often filled
with drunken, over-excited youths arriving at midnight and noisily
cooking breakfast at 2am? Descriptions seem to vary a lot!

So do nights in bothies...

Hogmanay/New Year's Day was spent in a wee one with just the four
of us who'd planned to be there together. That was an unmarked one
with a dirt floor, I imagine well known ones would have been busier.

Large groups generally avoid bothies as a basic part of the Bothy
Code, or if they visit they often camp outside. If you've a tent
with you that's an option for a peaceful night if there's a crowd
in (or a Bothy Bore to avoid!), but if you're camping then you
don't have the option of an open fire in your accommodation and you
can't walk around out of the rain. The tent in case option is a
good one, and if it's just a port of call on a backpacking trip
you'll probably have it anyway.

If you do your trip from coast to coast you're bound to have at
least some bothy options, and with the tent along with you it's the
perfect opportunity to try a few. Much better for drying out in
after a wet day than a tent!

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Peewiglet said:

I've been reading around, but can't quite manage to get an impression
of what it's generally like to stay in Scottish bothies. Naturally it
all depends on who happens to be there, on any given night, but do
they tend, on average, to be fairly peaceful, or are they often filled
with drunken, over-excited youths arriving at midnight and noisily
cooking breakfast at 2am? Descriptions seem to vary a lot!

So do nights in bothies...

Hogmanay/New Year's Day was spent in a wee one with just the four
of us who'd planned to be there together. That was an unmarked one
with a dirt floor, I imagine well known ones would have been busier.

Large groups generally avoid bothies as a basic part of the Bothy
Code, or if they visit they often camp outside. If you've a tent
with you that's an option for a peaceful night if there's a crowd
in (or a Bothy Bore to avoid!), but if you're camping then you
don't have the option of an open fire in your accommodation and you
can't walk around out of the rain. The tent in case option is a
good one, and if it's just a port of call on a backpacking trip
you'll probably have it anyway.

If you do your trip from coast to coast you're bound to have at
least some bothy options, and with the tent along with you it's the
perfect opportunity to try a few. Much better for drying out in
after a wet day than a tent!

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

"Peewiglet" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

I've been reading around, but can't quite manage to get an impression
of what it's generally like to stay in Scottish bothies. Naturally it
all depends on who happens to be there, on any given night, but do
they tend, on average, to be fairly peaceful, or are they often filled
with drunken, over-excited youths arriving at midnight and noisily
cooking breakfast at 2am? Descriptions seem to vary a lot!

From reading the log books you do get a few strange individuals using them
and I did meet one genuinely scary guy in one once who made no secret of the
fact he didn't want me there but that was the middle of the afternoon
fortunately. On the majority of the occasions I've stayed in bothies though
I've had the place to myself. Don't take the descriptions in Mountain Days
and Bothy Nights as a typical scenario, a lot of bothies these days are
pretty decent accommodation, I've paid rent for worse places than some.

* The air of uk.rec.walking was filled with the delicate perfume
* of violets, as Judith <[email hidden]> descended on a
* shaft of golden sunlight, and announced:

Quoted message said:

"Heeeeeere's Johnnnny!" bothy!

Now, it wasn't _really_ necessary to say that, Judith! I would have thought
you'd be a bit more supportive and reassuring to a member of your own sex.

Of the bothies I've visited or stayed, in the Cairngorms:

Corrour - best avoided. It's dirty and often crowded. Fireplace, but little
local wood. Polluted environs.

Fords of Avon Refuge - (Not an official bothy - just a shelter). Horrible,
no windows and whenever I've looked in there's been an inch or two of water
on the floor. Again, best avoided except in an emergency.

Huttchison Memorial Hut - Sound and nice and airy. Good location.

Faindouran - The most remote bothy and consequently not heavily used. Good
bothy with an upstairs and downstairs. Good fireplace, but no local wood!
The location is dour - Glen Avon has a wide bulldozed track through most of
its length and the views, except for Ben Avon, are dreary.

Shelter Stone - (A howff, not a bothy). Wonderful location, but filthy
environs. Every time I've looked under it, I've shuddered at the litter and
hurried on my way.

Ruigh Aiteachain (Incorrectly also called Landseer's Bothy) - Great bothy
with two rooms and a fireplace. Plenty of local wood and a saw and
wheelbarrow provided. _Flush_outside_toilet_ - OK, you have to go to the
burn with a bucket for water to flush it, but it's a proper outside toilet
that I believe empties into a septic tank. Sylvan location.

There's a nice little timber bothy on the Inshriach estate at NH884056 but I
can't remember the local name. It's in a lovely sylvan location and when I
looked in last year it was quite clean and tidy. I guess because it's not on
a main route to anywhere, it's little used. Because it's easily accessible,
it might be a good choice for a 'first bothy'.

Bob Scott's Bothy - Burnt down a year or so ago.

Corndavon - I recall seeing a notice some years ago that it's closed owing
to vandalism.

Bynack Stable - Nasty, just a rough corrugated shelter with no door, broken
windows and a dirt floor. There's a similar one marked on the map as a
'shelter', halfway through Glen Avon.

Ryvoan - When I looked in a year or so ago it had been renvovated and was
quite tidy. Because of its easy accessibility I don't expect it will remain
unvandalised for long. It's in a nice location, but not worth bothering with
as the Glen More campsite and Hostel is only about half an hour away. Good
fireplace.

I know this is going to be contentious, but from what I've seen, the bothies
that suffer the most from vandalism are the ones accessible by mountain bikes!

A 'must read' (and hilarious in places!) for those interested in the Scottish
hills and bothies, is 'Mountain Days and Bothy Nights'.

Hope this gives some idea of what they're like.

Jim Ford

"Roger" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The message <[email hidden]>
from [email hidden] (RJ Webb) contains these words:

Quoted message said:

Seriously, they are usually empty these days - fashions have changed.
What ever you do, hang your food high

To keep it out of reach of the bears?

A friend and I stayed in a bothy just last week and we hung our food bags
from nails on the wall but, the next morning, we found a mouse in one of the
bags nibbling our noodles so after that we hung our foodbags from nails in
the rafters.

Cheers, Jiffy

On 4 Jan 2005 16:28:14 GMT, Jim Ford <[email hidden]>
wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

Corrour - best avoided. It's dirty and often crowded. Fireplace, but little
local wood. Polluted environs.

Fords of Avon Refuge - (Not an official bothy - just a shelter). Horrible,
no windows and whenever I've looked in there's been an inch or two of water
on the floor. Again, best avoided except in an emergency.

Huttchison Memorial Hut - Sound and nice and airy. Good location.

Faindouran - The most remote bothy and consequently not heavily used. Good
bothy with an upstairs and downstairs. Good fireplace, but no local wood!
The location is dour - Glen Avon has a wide bulldozed track through most of
its length and the views, except for Ben Avon, are dreary.

Shelter Stone - (A howff, not a bothy). Wonderful location, but filthy
environs. Every time I've looked under it, I've shuddered at the litter and
hurried on my way.

Ruigh Aiteachain (Incorrectly also called Landseer's Bothy) - Great bothy
with two rooms and a fireplace. Plenty of local wood and a saw and
wheelbarrow provided. _Flush_outside_toilet_ - OK, you have to go to the
burn with a bucket for water to flush it, but it's a proper outside toilet
that I believe empties into a septic tank. Sylvan location.

There's a nice little timber bothy on the Inshriach estate at NH884056 but I
can't remember the local name. It's in a lovely sylvan location and when I
looked in last year it was quite clean and tidy. I guess because it's not on
a main route to anywhere, it's little used. Because it's easily accessible,
it might be a good choice for a 'first bothy'.

Bob Scott's Bothy - Burnt down a year or so ago.

Corndavon - I recall seeing a notice some years ago that it's closed owing
to vandalism.

Bynack Stable - Nasty, just a rough corrugated shelter with no door, broken
windows and a dirt floor. There's a similar one marked on the map as a
'shelter', halfway through Glen Avon.

Ryvoan - When I looked in a year or so ago it had been renvovated and was
quite tidy. Because of its easy accessibility I don't expect it will remain
unvandalised for long. It's in a nice location, but not worth bothering with
as the Glen More campsite and Hostel is only about half an hour away. Good
fireplace.

I know this is going to be contentious, but from what I've seen, the bothies
that suffer the most from vandalism are the ones accessible by mountain bikes!

A 'must read' (and hilarious in places!) for those interested in the Scottish
hills and bothies, is 'Mountain Days and Bothy Nights'.

Hope this gives some idea of what they're like.

Wow! Fantastically helpful, thanks :-) I've left the details
unsnipped, in case anyone missed your original posting.

By coincidence, I ordered "Mountain Days and Bothy Nights" y/day, and
I'm hoping it'll arrive later on this week :-))

Thanks again!

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \ pee AT [guessthisbit].co.uk

On Tue, 04 Jan 2005 13:42:23 +0000, Peter Clinch
<[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

Hogmanay/New Year's Day was spent in a wee one with just the four
of us who'd planned to be there together. That was an unmarked one
with a dirt floor, I imagine well known ones would have been busier.

It sounds idyllic :-)

Quoted message said:

Large groups generally avoid bothies as a basic part of the Bothy
Code, or if they visit they often camp outside. If you've a tent
with you that's an option for a peaceful night if there's a crowd
in (or a Bothy Bore to avoid!), but if you're camping then you
don't have the option of an open fire in your accommodation and you
can't walk around out of the rain. The tent in case option is a
good one, and if it's just a port of call on a backpacking trip
you'll probably have it anyway.

I think I'd always have the tent, just in case.

Quoted message said:

If you do your trip from coast to coast you're bound to have at
least some bothy options, and with the tent along with you it's the
perfect opportunity to try a few. Much better for drying out in
after a wet day than a tent!

Very good point! Thanks v. much :-)

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \ pee AT [guessthisbit].co.uk

On Tue, 4 Jan 2005 14:55:30 -0000, "AndyP"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

From reading the log books you do get a few strange individuals using them
and I did meet one genuinely scary guy in one once who made no secret of the
fact he didn't want me there but that was the middle of the afternoon
fortunately.

Eek. Presumably you left?

Quoted message said:

On the majority of the occasions I've stayed in bothies though
I've had the place to myself. Don't take the descriptions in Mountain Days
and Bothy Nights as a typical scenario, a lot of bothies these days are
pretty decent accommodation, I've paid rent for worse places than some.

Many thanks for that - it sounds as though it would be fun to explore
a few 🙂

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \ pee AT [guessthisbit].co.uk

On 4 Jan 2005 16:28:14 GMT, Jim Ford <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

"Heeeeeere's Johnnnny!" bothy!

Now, it wasn't _really_ necessary to say that, Judith! I would have thought
you'd be a bit more supportive and reassuring to a member of your own sex.

Sorry :-(

I've (knowingly) seen only the Corrour Bothy and, even from afar, it
looked a bit dodgy!

Judith

On 4 Jan 2005 16:28:14 GMT, Jim Ford <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

"Heeeeeere's Johnnnny!" bothy!

Now, it wasn't _really_ necessary to say that, Judith! I would have thought
you'd be a bit more supportive and reassuring to a member of your own sex.

Sorry :-(

I've (knowingly) seen only the Corrour Bothy and, even from afar, it
looked a bit dodgy!

Judith

"Peewiglet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Tue, 4 Jan 2005 00:07:13 -0000, "Stuart" <[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

They are really good places, very basic, nothing at all like alpine huts!
Most bothies are very remote and hence only seem to attract the serious

hill

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

goer. Getting a good fire going and drinking lots of whisky seems to be

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

done think. I'm not a whisky person myself, much prefer lager, but theirs
something very special about having a few wee nips in a remote bothy!

Well this sounds good! Perhaps I'll have to carry a few wee nips with
me :-))

in true west coast traditions, "A few wee nips" means throwing the top into
the fire .... no point in keeping a top for an empty bottle!

Judith said:

On 4 Jan 2005 16:28:14 GMT, Jim Ford <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

"Heeeeeere's Johnnnny!" bothy!

Now, it wasn't _really_ necessary to say that, Judith! I would have thought
you'd be a bit more supportive and reassuring to a member of your own sex.

Sorry :-(

No problem! I wasn't really scared :-)

Quoted message said:

I've (knowingly) seen only the Corrour Bothy and, even from afar, it
looked a bit dodgy!

I remember you saying that, and I've read the same from other people.
I decided (this is back when I was planning to stay there) to camp
outside instead, but then (i) I read that it was pretty polluted, and
(ii) I read that a woman who crawled out of her tent for a pee in the
middle of the night saw a figure standing silently next to the stream
in the darkness. At that stage I decided to give the Corrour Bothy a
miss!

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \ pee AT [guessthisbit].co.uk

Stuart said:

Quoted message said:

[...]

Quoted message said:

They are really good places, very basic, nothing at all like alpine huts!
Most bothies are very remote and hence only seem to attract the serious

hill

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

goer. Getting a good fire going and drinking lots of whisky seems to be

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

done think. I'm not a whisky person myself, much prefer lager, but theirs
something very special about having a few wee nips in a remote bothy!

Well this sounds good! Perhaps I'll have to carry a few wee nips with
me :-))

in true west coast traditions, "A few wee nips" means throwing the top into
the fire .... no point in keeping a top for an empty bottle!

Ahaa! I'll make a note of that 🙂

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \ pee AT [guessthisbit].co.uk