Scottish Bothies for Beginners: What to Expect & Where to Start

Quick Summary

• A bothy is a free, unlocked mountain shelter — maintained by the Mountain Bothies Association (MBA) on behalf of private landowners, open to anyone who walks in
• There are around 100 MBA-maintained bothies in Scotland — plus dozens of non-MBA shelters, mostly in the Highlands and the north-west
• No booking, no key, no fee — but strict etiquette via the Bothy Code keeps the system working
• Plan your first trip — our Gear Checklist Generator builds a Scotland-specific bothy kit list in 30 seconds

Bothies are one of the most distinctive things about the Scottish outdoors and one of the least understood by anyone new to the scene. They are not hotels. They are not booking-required mountain huts like the Alps. They are simple stone buildings, maintained by volunteers, free to use, and dependent entirely on the good behaviour of everyone who visits. Use them well and they remain; use them badly and they get locked.

Quick Answer: A bothy is a free, unlocked shelter maintained for walkers and climbers, usually by the Mountain Bothies Association (MBA) on behalf of the landowner. Scotland has around 100 MBA bothies plus dozens of non-MBA shelters, mostly in the Highlands and north-west. There is no booking, no fee, no key — you walk in, sleep on the floor or on a wooden sleeping platform, and follow the Bothy Code (pack it in, pack it out, leave it cleaner than you found it). Beginners should start with short walk-ins like Ryvoan (3km), Bob Scott's (4km) or Peanmeanach (4km).

What a bothy actually is

A bothy is a simple shelter in a remote part of Scotland — usually an abandoned shepherd's cottage, gamekeeper's lodge or drovers' stop — that has been restored to basic habitable standard and left unlocked for use by walkers, climbers and anyone else passing through on foot.

The typical bothy is:

• A single stone building with one or two rooms
• Basic wooden sleeping platforms (not beds — you bring your own mat and sleeping bag)
• A fireplace or stove (you bring your own fuel, usually wood or coal)
• A water source nearby — usually a burn, sometimes a collected rainwater butt
• No electricity, no running water, no toilet, no rubbish collection
• No booking, no key, no fee, no warden

You walk in, you claim a space, you cook on your own stove, you sleep on the floor, and you walk out in the morning having taken everything you brought with you. That's the model. It has worked, more or less unchanged, for fifty years.

The Mountain Bothies Association

The Mountain Bothies Association (MBA) is a UK charity founded in 1965 that maintains around 100 bothies across Scotland and a handful more in England, Wales and the Isle of Man. The bothies are owned by the private landowners (often estates or Forestry and Land Scotland), and the MBA maintains them under agreement with those owners. All maintenance work is done by volunteers, funded by membership fees and donations.

Source: Mountain Bothies Association.

You don't have to be an MBA member to use MBA bothies. You don't have to pay anything. The membership fee is a voluntary contribution from people who value the system and want it to keep working. Around £25 a year feels like a very small price for the privilege of walking into a dry stone building after 8 hours on the hill and lighting a fire.

The Bothy Code — the most important section in this article

The entire bothy system depends on users following a short set of rules. The MBA publishes these as the Bothy Code and every bothy has a copy pinned up inside. Read them before your first trip. Read them again.

1. Respect other users

• Keep noise down, especially at night. People walked in to be in a quiet place.
• Share space willingly. If a bothy is full, offer what space you can.
• Don't treat a bothy as a private lodge. It belongs to whoever is currently inside.
• Big groups (more than six) should consider camping outside rather than filling the building.

2. Respect the bothy

• Leave it cleaner than you found it. Sweep the floor. Tidy the sleeping platforms. Bring the standard a notch above what you arrived to.
• Don't damage the structure. Don't burn the furniture, don't pull wood from the walls, don't chip the stonework.
• Don't graffiti. Ever. Not even a name and a date.
• Report serious damage to the MBA via their website after your trip.

3. Respect the surroundings

• Pack it in, pack it out. Every wrapper, every tin, every orange peel. There is no bin collection.
• Human waste: bury at least 15cm deep, at least 30 metres from water, and at least 30 metres from the bothy itself.
• Don't cut vegetation for fuel. Bring your own firewood or use dead fallen wood only.
• Don't light fires outside the hearth. Peatland ignites, and a bothy with a burned verge is a bothy about to lose its landowner agreement.

4. Respect the agreement with the landowner

• Stay no more than a few nights in one bothy. Bothies are not permanent residences.
• Avoid the stalking and lambing seasons when requested — some estates close bothies in autumn for the stag-stalking season, typically 15 August to 20 October. Check the MBA website before travelling.
• Respect closure notices. If a bothy is closed for maintenance, repair, or estate operations, don't use it.

5. Use the bothy book

Every bothy has a visitors' book near the door. Sign in, write a short note about your trip, and sign out. It's useful for record-keeping, useful for Mountain Rescue if anyone goes missing, and a lovely informal record of who was there before you.

What to expect when you arrive

A bothy on the day you arrive could be empty, could have one quiet person in the corner, could have twelve students singing round the fire. There is no way to predict and no way to book ahead. This is the thing most first-timers find hardest and most experienced bothy users find charming.

The typical experience

You walk in from the nearest road end — usually 3 to 12 kilometres on a track or hill path. You arrive tired, usually wet, often in fading light. You push the door (never locked), step in, and the building is either empty or you introduce yourself to whoever's already there. You claim a space on the sleeping platform, unpack your kit, light your stove, cook, eat, talk to whoever's there, sign the bothy book, sleep on the floor, wake at first light, leave before 9am.

What bothies have inside

The no-booking reality

Because there is no booking, busy weekends can fill bothies well beyond their comfortable capacity. A bothy with sleeping space for eight might have fifteen people on a Saturday in July. If you arrive to a full bothy, your options are: camp outside (which is fine under the Scottish Outdoor Access Code on most bothy sites), walk to another shelter, or join the floor crowd inside. Never turn someone else away — you were lucky to get there first.

What to pack for a first bothy trip

A bothy trip is a full wild camping kit list minus the tent — you're getting shelter from the building, but everything else (warmth, food, water, light, toilet) is on you.

Shelter and sleep

• Sleeping bag — rated at least 3-season (comfort around 0°C). Synthetic if you can't keep it dry; down only if you have a waterproof stuff sack
• Sleeping mat — inflatable or foam, full-length. The wooden sleeping platforms are rough; a mat makes a huge difference
• Bivvy bag — optional but adds a failsafe if the bothy is full and you have to camp outside
• Small pillow — optional. A stuff sack full of clothes works

Cooking and water

• Gas or meths stove — gas is faster and simpler; meths (Trangia) is cheaper and lighter
• Pan, mug, cutlery — one of each
• Food — full meals for every meal you'll need, plus 25% extra. Dehydrated meals work well
• Water bottles — 2-3 litres capacity for both walking and bothy use
• Water purification — tablets or filter. Burn water is usually fine but always safer treated

Light and warmth

• Head torch — plus spare batteries or a second small torch
• Candles — optional bothy tradition. Always use in a holder on a stable surface. Never leave unattended
• Firewood or fuel — if the bothy has a fireplace and fires are allowed. Check the MBA listing before travelling
• Fire lighters / tinder — small pack in a waterproof bag

Toilet and waste

• Trowel — 15cm metal or plastic, lives in the pack
• Toilet paper in a waterproof bag
• Dog waste bags for packing out used toilet paper where ground is peaty
• Hand sanitiser

The rest

• Full three-layer walking kit (see our What to Wear Hillwalking guide)
• First aid kit
• Paper OS map and compass
• Phone in waterproof case + power bank
• Earplugs (honestly — someone will snore)
• A small book or pack of cards if you're staying for more than one night

Total kit weight for a one-night bothy trip: typically 12-15kg including full hillwalking layer system and food. A well-packed bothy kit is indistinguishable from a well-packed wild camping kit minus 2kg of tent.

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Ten beginner-friendly bothies to start with

All of these are MBA-maintained with clear paths, short to moderate walk-ins, and well-documented approach routes. Distances are approximate one-way from the nearest road end.

Source: Mountain Bothies Association bothy listings. Check mountainbothies.org.uk for current status before travelling — bothies can close at short notice for maintenance or estate operations.

Three things to check before you go

1. Current MBA status. The MBA website lists closures and maintenance. Closure is usually seasonal (stalking in autumn, landowner operations in spring).
2. The approach route. Use OS Maps or paper 1:25k sheet to plan the walk in. Bothies are not waymarked from road ends.
3. Stalking season. Most Highland estates run red deer stag stalking from 1 July to 20 October, peaking in September. Some close access to bothies during this period. The MBA website flags affected bothies.

What makes a bothy “beginner-friendly”?

The ten above all share:

• Clear track or path from the road — no pathless navigation
• Under 15km walk-in — achievable with a loaded pack in under 4 hours
• No serious river crossings in normal conditions
• Good documentation online and in guidebooks
• Regular use so you're unlikely to be completely alone on your first trip (which is reassuring for most first-timers)

More remote bothies — Kearvaig on Cape Wrath, Maol-Bhuidhe in the Glen Affric hinterland, Glenpean in Knoydart, Uags on the Applecross peninsula — are all worth visiting eventually, but they need more route-finding, longer walks and real self-sufficiency. Start with the ten above and build from there.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a bothy in Scotland?

A bothy is a simple, unlocked shelter in a remote part of the Scottish Highlands — usually a restored shepherd's cottage or estate building — that is free to use by walkers, climbers and anyone else passing through on foot. Most are maintained by the Mountain Bothies Association (MBA), a UK charity, on behalf of the private landowners. There is no booking, no key, no fee, and no warden. You walk in, sleep on a wooden platform or on the floor, follow the Bothy Code, and walk out the next morning.

How do I find Scottish bothies?

The Mountain Bothies Association website (mountainbothies.org.uk) lists every MBA-maintained bothy in the UK with a brief description, grid reference, approach route notes, current status and any closure information. The MBA deliberately does not provide exact GPS coordinates or distances — they expect visitors to work those out from OS mapping. Non-MBA bothies and informal shelters are documented in guidebooks like “The Scottish Bothy Bible” by Geoff Allan.

Do I need to book a Scottish bothy?

No. Scottish bothies cannot be booked. You walk in on the day and take whatever space is available. Busy weekends in summer can see bothies well beyond their comfortable capacity, so the best strategy is to travel midweek, travel off-season, bring a tent as backup, and never turn away anyone who arrives after you. The no-booking model is central to how bothies work and isn't going to change.

How much does it cost to stay in a Scottish bothy?

Nothing. MBA bothies are free to use. The MBA funds maintenance through voluntary membership fees (around £25/year) and donations. You are not obliged to join or donate, but if you use bothies regularly, a £25 annual membership is the single fairest thing you can do to keep the system working. Non-MBA bothies (estate-run, climbing-club-run) are generally also free but some may request a small donation in an honesty box.

What is the Bothy Code?

The Bothy Code is a short set of etiquette rules published by the Mountain Bothies Association. The five main principles are: respect other users (share space, keep noise down, don't monopolise), respect the bothy (leave it cleaner than you found it, don't damage the structure, no graffiti), respect the surroundings (pack it in and pack it out, proper toilet etiquette, don't cut vegetation), respect the landowner agreement (avoid stalking season where requested, respect closures, don't stay too long), and use the bothy book. The full Code is pinned up inside every MBA bothy.

Are Scottish bothies safe?

Yes, broadly. The main risks are the standard Scottish hill risks — weather, navigation, river crossings, cold — rather than anything specific to the buildings. Bothies themselves are structurally sound (they're maintained by the MBA) and there are no locks to worry about for safety. Tell someone your plan before you go, sign the bothy book when you arrive, and follow the same weather and gear rules you'd follow on any Scottish hill day.

What is the easiest Scottish bothy to get to?

Ryvoan Bothy in the Cairngorms, about 3km along a good forest track from An Lochan Uaine near Glenmore Lodge, is the easiest MBA bothy approach in Scotland and the standard first-ever bothy recommendation. Other short walk-ins include Bob Scott's (4km from Linn of Dee), Peanmeanach (4km from the A830 in Ardnamurchan), and Rowchoish (3km from Inversnaid on the West Highland Way).

Can I have a fire in a bothy?

Some bothies have a functioning fireplace or stove and some don't. Where fires are allowed, the rules are: never burn the furniture or anything structural, never burn living vegetation, use only brought-in firewood or dead fallen wood, never leave a fire unattended, and always extinguish fully before sleep. Check the MBA listing for your target bothy before travelling — some have had fires removed and some are closed during fire-risk seasons.

Can I take a dog to a bothy?

Generally yes, but with heavy caveats. Dogs must be under control at all times (sheep and deer country), kept off sleeping platforms where possible, and you must pick up after them — especially around the bothy itself. Some bothies are not dog-friendly by custom or landowner request — check the MBA listing. Bring a dog mat or old fleece so the dog isn't on the bothy floor.

Related Articles

• Wild Camping in Scotland: What the Access Code Actually Means — the legal framework that bothies sit alongside
• What to Wear Hillwalking in Scotland — the layering system for the walk in and the walk out
• Hillwalking Scotland Beginner's Kit List — the base kit every bothy trip builds on
• Scottish Midge Survival Guide — essential reading for a summer bothy visit
• OutdoorSCOT Tools — Gear Checklist Generator and other planning tools

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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional safety instruction. Bothy approach routes cross Scottish hill country where conditions change rapidly — always check the weather (MWIS) before travelling, carry appropriate equipment, and tell someone your plan. The Mountain Bothies Association relies entirely on the good behaviour of visitors; the Bothy Code above is not optional. OutdoorSCOT is not liable for any incidents arising from the use of this information.

Sources

• Mountain Bothies Association — The Mountain Bothies Association
• Scottish Outdoor Access Code — NatureScot
• The Bothy Code — MBA
• MWIS West Highlands forecast — Mountain Weather Information Service