Scottish Bothy Walks - 28 best bothy adventures

well as 21 in England and Wales. In 2015, when
the organisation celebrated its 50th anniversary,
it received The Queen’s Award for Voluntary
Service – the highest accolade for a voluntary
group in the UK.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Bothies come in many shapes and sizes,
but the most common configuration is the
classic two-roomed cottage referred to by its
Scots term, but and ben. The ‘but’ referring to
the kitchen and living room, and the ‘ben’ the
bedroom. Accommodation is very rudimentary,
and in almost all cases there is no gas, electricity,
tap, or toilet. You should expect only a wind- and
waterproof building that offers somewhere dry
to sleep. If you are staying overnight, you will
need to carry in all the equipment you would
normally take camping, plus candles and, if there
is a fireplace, fuel to burn. As a bare minimum,
bothies will have a table and a couple of chairs,
but many also have sleeping platforms and
stoves. Water comes from a nearby stream and,
although some bothies have latrines or loos,
answering calls of nature will involve a walk and
the use of a spade.
Bothies can look romantic, but in reality they
can be cold, dusty, damp, and pretty dark. Yet
in the evening, with the fire blazing, candles
burning, hot food on the table and a glass of
wine at your elbow, the place is transformed.
Some (myself included) just like to go ‘bothying’
– setting off for the weekend without any other
objective in mind – and many bothies have been
adopted as a home from home. Evenings can be
peaceful or convivial, so respect other users as
well as the bothy itself. Each shelter has at least
one dedicated MBA maintenance officer who
volunteers their services to look after the fabric
of the building and when major renovations
are required, the MBA organises work parties. I
would wholeheartedly recommend joining the
MBA to support all their good work.
LOCATING BOTHIES
Bothies differ from other systems of mountain
huts and refuges around the world in a number
of subtle and distinctive ways. Because only a
very small number have been purpose-built, the
location of the majority is fairly random. They
are not necessarily close to a particular peak or
spaced at equal distances along a recognised
long-distance walk. Neither are they tied to
any specific National Park. They are found right
across the country, some in very remote places
that are rarely visited. Another intriguing element
is the past reticence about advertising the
network. Except in a very few cases, the word
bothy has not been printed on any OS maps;
only the name of the building. And on the ground
there are few signposts to point the way. As I
explain in the next section, you cannot rely on
this guide alone, but in combination with the
right OS map you should be able to find your way
with ease.
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