Tunskeen, Dumfries and Galloway
It all started here in Galloway Forest Park, not far from the Merrick, southern Scotland’s highest mountain. Tunskeen was one of many isolated old farmhouses around Britain. From the early 1900s, and particularly after the first world war, changes in agricultural practices meant these stone buildings were abandoned. But because they were unlocked, intrepid climbers and walkers would stay in them, not always with the landowners’ permission. In 1965, a bunch of outdoor enthusiasts, led by a Yorkshireman called Bernard Heath, came together to restore the one-room house, which was rapidly being lost to the elements, and the modern bothy was born.
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Kershopehead, Cumbria
Close to the borders with Scotland and Northumberland, deep in the Kielder Forest, lies what appears to be an old two-storey farmhouse. Look more closely and you’ll realise that half of it is merely a shell, with only the holes for windows, brick walls and a roof remaining. But inside, amazingly, there’s a beautiful sitting room with comfy chairs, a solid fuel fire and a little library of outdoor books and magazines.
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Dulyn, Snowdonia
Wales’s highest mountain attracts headlines and crowds, but a few miles to the north, the Carneddau mountains are very different. This more rounded cluster of peaks offers heather-clad grassland and winding rivers, all ripe for a crowd-free hiking experience. Tucked away among its boulders and rocks is Dulyn Bothy, an old shepherd’s hut near the lip of a reservoir. At this popular two-roomed abode, like-minded wilderness lovers spend the evening sharing stories by the fire.
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The Schoolhouse, Sutherland
This bothy is unusual in that it wasn’t used for farming but had another use entirely – a classroom. In the early 20th century, to ensure that children in the far-flung corners of the Scottish Highlands received an education, local authorities constructed buildings like this one to serve as schoolhouses. It sits a few metres from the banks of the Einig river and when it was in full spate, the pupils’ journey here would have been quite arduous. The teacher would probably have lived in one of the building’s three rooms, and some old school desks remain for visitors to sit at while they record their adventure in the visitors’ book.
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Blackburn of Corrieyairack, Great Glen
East of the Great Glen – the connecting series of lochs that slice Scotland in two – lie the lonely Monadhliath mountains. And running along the edge of this range, is a 40km military road built in the 1700s. Now a rough and rock-strewn path, it’s a registered ancient monument and open only to foot traffic. Follow it south from Fort Augustus and you’ll spy the green tin roof of this old stalker’s hut. A one-room affair, it has an open fireplace and a collection of books.
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Taigh Seumas a’ Ghlinne, Highlands
This was the birthplace of a man called James Stewart, aka James of the Glen, who was tried and hanged in November 1752 for the murder of a man from a rival clan – a crime he maintained until his death that he did not commit. Standing on the scaffold, he recited a psalm, distraught that history would remember him as a murderer. The story inspired many – including Robert Louis Stevenson, whose novel Kidnapped is based on the tale. As recently as 2008 a petition to get a pardon for him was thrown out because it was so long ago. Hikers can soak up a little of this history while sitting in front of the fire in his former one-room homestead.
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Greg’s Hut, north Pennines
To some walkers the Pennines is defined by its limestone pavements; to others its millstone grit edges; but for many its major feature is the seemingly endless stretches of boggy moorland. And none feels more endless than that around the mountain known as Cross Fell, in eastern Cumbria. A visit to this peak, with its infamously changeable weather, can be made more comfortable with a stop at this former mineworkers’ hostel. Its renovation was funded by the friends of one John Gregory, following his death while climbing in Switzerland. The two-room hut is now used each year by hundreds of walkers, shepherds and the Penrith Mountain Rescue Team.
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Camasunary, Isle of Skye
In the south of the most accessible of the Inner Hebrides, and a three-mile walk from the nearest town, is a beautiful bay where mountain and sea combine spectacularly. It’s called Camasunary and its beach offers views of islands including the dramatic stump-like Eigg and the rocky rump of Rum. Set back from the sand, this an old stone bothy has been open for walkers for the past 30 years. However, 1km to the east, something special is happening. For the first time in the history of the MBA, a brand-new shelter is being built from scratch to replace it, paid for by the landowner. The old building will be taken back by the estate but the new, modern, insulated bothy should be open by the end of the year, offering money-can’t-buy views – for free.
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Staying in a bothy is basically wild camping indoors. They cannot be booked, it’s a case of turning up and hoping there’s space (half the fun!), so you’ll need to take a tent or bivvy bag with you just in case. Some have raised sleeping platforms, at others you may have to sleep on the floor so take a good camping mat and warm sleeping bag. There’s no kitchen or running water but there’s nearly always a stream nearby so take a bottle or container to collect it – you’ll also need to take a camping stove to boil it (to sterilise it). Toilets are a welcome rarity but there will always be a shovel (dig a hole at least 200m from the bothy and 50m from any path and watercourse). Take your own tissue and a bag to carry out all waste.
Phoebe Smith’s guide, The Book of the Bothy, is published by Cicerone, price £12.95. Until the end of October, Guardian readers can get a 25% discount by visiting cicerone.co.uk and entering the code BothyG25 at checkout. To donate to or join the MBA go to moutainbothies.org.uk
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