Scottish Bothies

[Digimonkey]

Hello all - the subject of mountain bothies turned up last night in the conversation on sotd. Mostly with @Blademonkey - sparked by my mentioning Essence of Scotland - Highland Bothy soap and how it seems very unlikely to smell 'authentic' to the bothy experience. If you are interested - here are some pictures of actual bothies - for those who don't know - a bothy is a rough and ready mountain shelter. Free to use by anyone and looked after by the Scottish Mountain Bothies Association. Locations are as follows - 1,2 & 3 - Guirdil, isle of Rum. 4 & 7 - Staoineag - west central highlands. 5 - Loch Chiaran - west central highlands. 6 - Meanach - west central highlands. 8 - Lairig Leacach - west central highlands. I hope some might find them to be interesting - they are copyrighted and I trust this will be respected. Best Regards - I.

 

[Blademonkey]

Hello all - the subject of mountain bothies turned up last night in the conversation on sotd. Mostly with @Blademonkey - sparked by my mentioning Essence of Scotland - Highland Bothy soap and how it seems very unlikely to smell 'authentic' to the bothy experience. If you are interested - here are some pictures of actual bothies - for those who don't know - a bothy is a rough and ready mountain shelter. Free to use by anyone and looked after by the Scottish Mountain Bothies Association. Locations are as follows - 1,2 & 3 - Guirdil, isle of Rum. 4 & 7 - Staoineag - west central highlands. 5 - Loch Chiaran - west central highlands. 6 - Meanach - west central highlands. 8 - Lairig Leacach - west central highlands. I hope some might find them to be interesting - they are copyrighted and I trust this will be respected. Best Regards - I.

Great pictures, wonderful landscapes , thank you for posting these. Very interesting indeed.

 

[thegallus1]

Fantastic pictures Digimonkey. I have only stayed at the one bothy - Craig near Diabeg on the Torridon coast. Great night with a dram enjoying the craic.

 

[Digimonkey]

Fantastic pictures Digimonkey. I have only stayed at the one bothy - Craig near Diabeg on the Torridon coast. Great night with a dram enjoying the craic.

@thegallus1 - Torridon - no place for girls. I was camping there once and a squall of wind came up the sea loch - we could hear it coming towards us on an otherwise calm day - out of the blue - so to speak. It hit the tent broad-side and snapped the main pole. It was a Wild Country tent - not cheap s**t. We retired to the bothy you mention - as did several others. Cheers - I.

 

[Pat-W]

Liked the post Digimonkey, i do quite a bit of hill walking and around 80 munros(Scottish mountains over 3000 ft ) have now been conquered,I'm not addicted to bagging all of them though as I like to climb up some of the smaller ones that can be just as rewarding.
I've spent a bit of time in a few bothies but never overnight , luxury compered to digging a snow hole to get out of the weather, twice I had to do that in the Cairngorms caught in a white out.Not good !
I've also did a fair bit of wild camping in the mountains with my Nallo tent although that type of expedition is now in the past, as the very thought of humphing a heavy pack up a mountain makes my knees wobble.
Nowadays I venture into the mountains with the lightweight gear I have and im able to cover more ground.

 

[Digimonkey]

Liked the post Digimonkey, i do quite a bit of hill walking and around 80 munros(Scottish mountains over 3000 ft ) have now been conquered,I'm not addicted to bagging all of them though as I like to climb up some of the smaller ones that can be just as rewarding.
I've spent a bit of time in a few bothies but never overnight , luxury compered to digging a snow hole to get out of the weather, twice I had to do that in the Cairngorms caught in a white out.Not good !
I've also did a fair bit of wild camping in the mountains with my Nallo tent although that type of exhibition is now in the past, as the very thought of humphing a heavy pack up a mountain makes my knees wobble.
Nowadays I venture into the mountains with the lightweight gear I have and im able to cover more ground.

You're right mate. A couple of years ago I took part in the TGO - for those that don't know - that's walking across Scotland at it widest point. It takes two weeks. Light weight kit is the way to go. Ultra light - if you can afford it. My tent was a shade under a kilo. Nice. Like you - I can't be arsed carrying stuff uphill any more. I'm too old. I'm not bothered about getting to summits these days - but I do enjoy wandering through the landscape. See attached last summit picture I took - Suilven. We got a weather window and used a bivi on the summit. Magical experience. I

 

[Blademonkey]

You're right mate. A couple of years ago I took part in the TGO - for those that don't know - that's walking across Scotland at it widest point. It takes two weeks. Light weight kit is the way to go. Ultra light - if you can afford it. My tent was a shade under a kilo. Nice. Like you - I can't be arsed carrying stuff uphill any more. I'm too old. I'm not bothered about getting to summits these days - but I do enjoy wandering through the landscape. See attached last summit picture I took - Suilven. We got a weather window and used a bivi on the summit. Magical experience. I

Magical indeed, fantastic photograph.

 

[Digimonkey]

Magical indeed, fantastic photograph.

@Blademonkey - thank you. I should probably reveal that I am a professional photographer - have been for 25-odd years - but the images I posted tonight are my personal pictures - done just for me. I seldom share them. Shot with a Leica rangefinder on black and white film. I

 

[Blademonkey]

@Blademonkey - thank you. I should probably reveal that I am a professional photographer - have been for 25-odd years - but the images I posted tonight are my personal pictures - done just for me. I seldom share them. Shot with a Leica rangefinder on black and white film. I

Wow, you have a great eye for a picture, thanks for posting these personal pictures.

 

[Pat-W]

Superb photo @Digimonkey , I bought a large canvas print similar to the photo you have posted.It was taken up in Wester Ross.I ordered it from a landscape photographer on the Internet based in England. He replied saying instead of having it posted to Glasgow he could bring the print to me as he was heading up to Edinburgh for a few days (great personal touch I thought ).It was good to meet the guy who was a keen hill walker himself, he told me about his day on the mountains when he took that photo and the fear of being struck by lightning. We talked about the great outdoors for a few hours and I thanked him for the 20% discount he offered me on any further purchases. I wished him well as he left for Edinburgh.
The print still hangs proudly on my living room wall and I don't think I'll ever tire of looking at it.

 

[Pat-W]

Superb photo @Digimonkey , I bought a large canvas print similar to the photo you have posted.It was taken up in Wester Ross.I ordered it from a landscape photographer on the Internet based in England. He replied saying instead of having it posted to Glasgow he could bring the print to me as he was heading up to Edinburgh for a few days (great personal touch I thought ).It was good to meet the guy who was a keen hill walker himself, he told me about his day on the mountains when he took that photo and the fear of being struck by lightning. We talked about the great outdoors for a few hours and I thanked him for the 20% discount he offered me on any further purchases. I wished him well as he left for Edinburgh.
The print still hangs proudly on my living room wall and I don't think I'll ever tire of looking at it.

This is the print.

 

[thegallus1]

Unfortunately, I'm not out in the mountains as much as I'd like to be. Like many others I'm on the wrong side of 40 and can't be bothered with climbing steep mountain sides - my knees in particular don't like it. Nowadays I plan to walk into a bothy/hostel/set up a tent and enjoy being out there e.g later this year a friend and I are going to walk into the Glen Affric hostel from Glen Affric car park, then out the next day. Can't wait!

 

[Pete]

The TGO sounds fascinating. Is there a map of the route? The hardest I've done is the Brecon Beacons, including a hike to the top of Pen Y Fan.

 

[Helveticum]

Great pics! Miss Scotland sometimes, haven't seen enough of it.
Going on a road trip to Northern Cyprus tomorrow with Nikon FA and HP5. Will see how that works out.
Not a pro though, just an amateur

 

[Digimonkey]

The TGO sounds fascinating. Is there a map of the route? The hardest I've done is the Brecon Beacons, including a hike to the top of Pen Y Fan.

Pete - there is no one route for the TGO - they give you a selection of starting points and finishing points - it's up to you to work out the stages in between. The one I was on was from Glenelg to Dunnotar Castle. It's a serious proposition - you have to submit highly detailed route plans for invigilation by the TGO - including bad weather alternatives for each day. There are two basic route planning problems everyone faces - firstly - you need to find a way across the Western Highland mountain chain then you either need to find a way round or go over the top of the Cairngorm. You need to send food ahead to pick up en route - normally two or three re-supply points - as you simply cannot carry enough food for two weeks. Effectively you end up managing weight loss - the amount of calories used everyday is staggering. It's normally a team endeavor - four being the maximum. Lastly - more people want to take part than get to do it - they do a ballot for selection. If that sounds like fun to you - start here - http://www.tgochallenge.co.uk/ There are loads of resources to be found online but you will find the basics on the TGO site. Hope this helps - I.

 

[Digimonkey]

Unfortunately, I'm not out in the mountains as much as I'd like to be. Like many others I'm on the wrong side of 40 and can't be bothered with climbing steep mountain sides - my knees in particular don't like it. Nowadays I plan to walk into a bothy/hostel/set up a tent and enjoy being out there e.g later this year a friend and I are going to walk into the Glen Affric hostel from Glen Affric car park, then out the next day. Can't wait!

@thegallus1 - I agree completely mate. It's all about being out there - no matter in what fashion. Nothing wrong with a bit of car-camping either. Toss every bit of kit you can think of into the boot and head off. It's one of the benefits of living in Glasgow - you can be in proper countryside just outside of an hour. Loch Fyne and Loch Awe are good for that sort of thing. Huge fire and matching sized carry out - a sit down with your mates. Keeps me sane. I.