Bothies on the BBC

[whitestone]

BBC Breakfast have just run a trailer for a piece about bothies that will run at around 0750. The reporter is in the Elan Valley. I'll have to watch it on iPlayer as I'll be at work.

I know that Stuart has written a piece on finding such things out for yourself. I wonder how much impact such a piece will have both on the buildings themselves and on the attitude of their owners.

[Yorlin]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34530931

Hmm. Starring the woman who just wrote the Book of the Bothy (available at etc etc). Wasn't too bad and the did try and plug the MBA a fair bit (it's their anniversary). That reporter did not seem to be enjoying himself though!

[Trail-rat]

im on the fence with this one.

Bothies when i grew up were either - your a member of the MBA and knew about them , word of mouth or blind luck stumbling across them.

Often they werent in good shape.

Certainly in scotland the bothies of late have been in the best shape ive seen them in years - wind/water tight , even rudimentary insulation and propper stoves - the flip side of this is that i believe the MBA gets lottery funding and as such the bothies have to be accessible to all and have had their locations advertised on their site.

The profile has been raised HOW EVER this has led to a huge increase of unprepared people arriving at them expecting their right to a bed - some of the bothys can quite literally be full to bursting - namely those close to carparks and roads - glas alt sheil , corour , ryvoan are a few these isses have been noted at. and more people turning up sans propper equipment to make bed outside if theres no room at the inn, so those that turned up early but do have their kit end up caving and sleeping outside - no great hardship but its a bit rude.

Everyone has to learn somewhere i get it but thats week one day one sub standard.

And dont get me started on massive groups turning up with cases and cases of beer on their shoulders. - this has always been an issue with easily accessible bothies. The aftermath is usually horrendous. How ever - the local estate seems to be quick to nip this lot in the bud these days. Gamies with a shotgun seem to have alot more power than the wierdo on the bike who turns up in the night :D

[Bearbonesnorm]

I know that Stuart has written a piece on finding such things out for yourself. I wonder how much impact such a piece will have both on the buildings themselves and on the attitude of their owners.

I managed to upset a few people with that piece but it also seemed to make a few others have a bit of a re-think. Oddly, I had an email last week of someone who in the main thought I was wrong. However, after arriving at a certain Welsh bothy on Sat afternoon and discovering 15 - 20 half pissed / stoned idiots with a big bonfire and the place a complete sub standard-tip, he's now starting to reconsider.

I'd also be very interested to know how much money from the sale of the book of the bothy is been donated to the MBA? I hope it's some but wouldn't be at all surprised if it's none.

[whitestone]

There will always be idiots regardless of where you are. I think the general littering problem in society where some consider their waste to be someone else's problem does unfortunately extend to the outdoors: http://www.grough.co.uk/magazine/2015/1 ... nd-snowdon

In some cases an item of litter is a genuine accident: the wind plucks a wrapper from your bag when you open it might be an example, but too often people are lazy and would rather it was someonelse's responsibility.

[mountainbaker]

coverage here too http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2015/ ... es-cumbria

[Ray Young]

I turned up at Overpawhope one night not realising there was an MBA work party on that weekend. I was offered space but of the 18 volunteers 5 where smoking cigarettes and one smoking a pipe. I thanked them kindly but said I'd be OK outside, chatted for five minutes then left them to their fumes.

[Matt]

This doesn't happen by accident.

The MBA must be using a PR company to promote this message and gain coverage. So they must feel that promoting the use of Bothies on a wider scale is the correct coarse of action.

[Purty]

The lady in the article is also a writer for Trail magazine.

[Bearbonesnorm]

The MBA must be using a PR company to promote this message and gain coverage. So they must feel that promoting the use of Bothies on a wider scale is the correct coarse of action.

Could it not be that the author / publishers of the book are promoting it and using their contacts within the media? ... really can't see the MBA spending cash on a PR company.

[Matt]

Yep, makes more sense

[Wotsits]

I agree with Stu, think it's all about promoting her book..

[Ian]

you may overnight on your own, but you'll often be joined by strangers

Loving the emphasis he puts on the word "strangers"

[Trail-rat]

ach they are only strangers till you have met them :D

[Richpips]

I saw the program this morning. It was a fairly unbiased piece I thought which laid out the facts.

I don't know if her book will encourage more people to visit bothies. Surely if you are a hill goer you know of their existance, and google will tell you most everything else you need to know if you want to stay in one.

Long before the MBA had a website bothies were being trashed, and there's at least one I know of that was levelled because it of its attraction to divs.

[Trail-rat]

oh yes rich i dont disagree with that - bothy trashing dates back to long before any of us were roaming the earth - when they put the once lovely interiors "up the lum" - baring in mind where many of the bothys came from.

How ever its becoming quite common nee expected to find a group of divs at local bothies - the new loch lomond if you will. - so much so that regular users will avoid out of preferance. - although i guess these decoys leave the nice ones that are a bit harder to get to free for us to enjoy

Had a lovely night at Ruighe-aiteachain recently - never met a sole.

[whitestone]

Wasn't Camunsary (sp?), one of those listed in the Guardian piece, essentially unusable at one point because of misuse? Sourlies bothy was always talked of as being a target for drinking parties way back in the 1980s. Quite a few of the Cairngorm bothies have seen misuse as well.

[Trail-rat]

aye , perhaps its just that they have already destroyed the easy targets and are moving onto my favorites as the next easiest to get too.....

was impressed at melgarve recently - the estate game keeper checked in at night , had a news - where had i come from where was i going and then the next morning came back and checked on the place as i was leaving. A most excellently kept bothy it was too.

[Richpips]

Wasn't Camunsary (sp?), one of those listed in the Guardian piece, essentially unusable at one point because of misuse?

It wasn't Camusunary on the telly. Though since you mentioned it, It's nearly 30 years that I first stayed at Camusunary, and it was busy then. More recently I've passed a couple of times and the bothy has been chocca with a dozen tents surrounding it. Apparently the bothy is mentioned in a number of foreign guide books as a highlight of the area.

As you say the remote ones will probably stay relatively free of trouble.

[AlasdairMc]

Had a lovely night at Ruighe-aiteachain recently - never met a sole.

Funny you should mention that - I turned up there a few weeks back and there were three guys who'd walked in from the end of the road for a weekend overnight. They weren't your usual trail types, but they kept themselves to themselves in one room and generally didn't make much noise. I'm always surprised it's not busier as it's quite accessible as bothies go.

[deft punk]

I can't see the coverage making a huge difference mess wise. Even the easy to reach bothies are too much effort for most. Far easier to camp next to your motor along the likes of Loch Doon & Glen Etive, hence everyone seems to take new tents & as much pish as they can fit in it before leaving it behind for others to "enjoy".

EDIT: I'm now amused by the idea that abandoned tents are just temporary bothies

[whitestone]

I know this is an old thread but I've just spent lunch on the Cairngormwanderer blog (not bog!!) and came across this review of "The Book of the Bothy" https://cairngormwanderer.wordpress.com ... othy-book/

[Bearbonesnorm]

I know this is an old thread but I've just spent lunch on the Cairngormwanderer blog (not bog!!) and came across this review of "The Book of the Bothy" https://cairngormwanderer.wordpress.com ... othy-book/

I had a long and interesting conversation with Tony Blackburn (no not that one), the chap in charge of MBA bothies in Wales the other week ... seems that not all the movers and shakers in the MBA are thrilled about the publication of the book or the general increase in bothy related press.

[fatbikephil]

Funnily enough when I was at home this xmas I snaffled my Dads copy of the 'Bothy book' written in 1979. Its a spiral bound loose leaf report of every shelter, potential shelter, bothy and potential bothy in Scotland - over 400 in all. This gained similar notoriety to this recent guide as it was done by a bloke off his own back with no direct support from the MBA who aledgedly tried to ban its publication (this may be hillwalker gossip tho) Only a handful of copies made it into the world and I doubt if many survive now. Its got hand drawn location maps and then a brief statement for every site lisiting GR, owner, condition, size and availability. I got quite excited at first however in reality most of the huts and shelters visited were either totally ruined or locked / in use as an estate property. The ones described as being in good nick are mainly the usual supects on the MBA website plus other well known ones. It also misses a few of the better known bothies out and due to its date of publication is now hopelessy out of date. For example Suileg on the flanks of Suilven is described as being partially ruinous when in fact its a mint bothy.

Interesting reading however and a hell of a lot of work for somebody. It also describes other shelters such as barns or stables which could be used as shelter = highly dubious really but useful to know (although again likely to be out of date now). I may use it as a basis for my own exploration of the Highlands.

[belugabob]

As I live 'darn sarf', bothies are a bit of a rarity.

The one which we do use is part of a farm complex, and only a mile or so from the public highway. It is, however, a reasonable distance from large towns, so has always been a pleasant experience.

It's quite disappointing to hear about people misusing things like you have all described.
It never ceases to amaze me - how people got to the effort of getting away from it all, then bring it all with them (and, all too often, leave it all behind)

Had a lovely night at Ruighe-aiteachain recently - never met a sole.

I guess the tide was out