bothies
What Is a Bothy? Scotland's Mountain Shelters Explained
A bothy is an unlocked, unmanned mountain shelter in the Scottish (and northern English) hills — free to use, maintained by volunteers, no booking required.
Quick Summary
- A bothy is an unlocked, unmanned mountain shelter available free of charge to anyone who needs it — no booking, no entry fee, no registration
- Around 100 bothies are maintained by the Mountain Bothies Association (MBA) in Scotland, northern England and Wales — mostly converted farm buildings, cottages or estate workers' homes
- They provide basic shelter only: four walls, a roof, usually a fireplace — no bedding, electricity or running water
- Browse 80+ Scottish bothies with approach routes and conditions in our bothies section
A bothy is one of the most distinctively Scottish outdoor institutions — a rough stone shelter in the hills, left unlocked by the landowner for walkers and mountaineers to use. They range from a single room barely larger than a cupboard to multi-room stone buildings sleeping twelve. They have no electricity, usually no running water, and always no booking system. You arrive, you stay, you leave it as you found it.
Quick Answer: A bothy is an unlocked mountain shelter, usually a converted stone building (former farmhouse, estate cottage or shepherd's bothy), maintained free of charge for the use of hillwalkers and backpackers. In Scotland, around 100 are managed by the Mountain Bothies Association (MBA) under agreement with landowners. They are free to use, require no booking, and provide four walls and a roof — you bring everything else. The bothy code governs responsible use and is what keeps them available.
The word "bothy"
"Bothy" comes from the Scottish Gaelic both or bothan, meaning a hut or small dwelling. Historically, a bothy was accommodation for farm labourers — often basic stone buildings where seasonal workers would live during harvest or lambing. When rural depopulation emptied many Highland farms and estate buildings in the 20th century, these structures fell into disuse.
The Mountain Bothies Association, founded in 1965, began approaching landowners to take over maintenance of these empty buildings in exchange for keeping them open to the public. The model worked: landowners got buildings maintained for free, walkers got shelters they could rely on in remote terrain. Most Scottish bothies are now on this basis — a voluntary agreement that can be terminated if the code is broken.
What to expect inside
Every bothy is different, but the typical MBA bothy provides:
- Stone walls and a weatherproof roof — the fundamental purpose
- A sleeping platform or bare stone floor — sometimes a wooden sleeping loft or fixed benches
- A fireplace or wood-burning stove — present in most but not all; some have a sign asking you not to light fires
- A basic table or seats — logs, pallets or built-in stone benches
What a bothy does not provide:
- Bedding of any kind — bring a sleeping bag and mat
- Electricity or lighting
- Running water (most have a nearby burn)
- Food — bring all your own
- Toilet facilities (most require going outside; bury waste 30m from water)
- Heat on arrival — the fire takes 30–45 minutes to warm the building
The Mountain Bothies Association
The MBA is a volunteer charity that maintains around 100 bothies in Scotland, northern England and Wales. It has around 4,500 members who pay annual subscriptions (£28/year for individuals) that fund volunteer work parties to maintain the buildings — re-roofing, pointing stonework, replacing windows, clearing drainage.
The MBA does not own the bothies — they are maintained under agreement with the landowners. This means the agreement can be withdrawn if the bothy code is consistently broken, which is why responsible use matters.
The MBA bothy finder does not publicly list GPS coordinates — it is deliberate policy that people find bothies through guidebooks and OS maps, filtering for those who have prepared. Bothies appear on OS maps as black squares.
How to find a bothy
Scottish Bothy Bible by Geoff Allan — the standard reference, covers 80+ bothies with directions, photos and local notes.
OS maps — bothies are marked as small black squares on both Explorer and Landranger maps.
Our bothies section — 80+ Scottish bothies with approach notes, seasonal conditions, and live weather.
Word of mouth — the hillwalking community freely shares bothy information; any hillwalking forum or club will point you to appropriate first-bothy options.
The bothy code
The bothy code is the six-principle guide published by the MBA governing how to use bothies. Core points: share the space (no exclusive occupation), leave it cleaner than you found it, bury human waste 30m from water, only light fires in established fireplaces, keep dogs under control. Full explanation in our Bothy Code guide.
Your first bothy night
What to bring:
| Essential | Optional but recommended |
|---|---|
| Sleeping bag (3-season minimum in shoulder season) | Foam sleeping mat |
| Food and means to cook it | Candles (bothy tradition) |
| Water filtration or treatment | Firewood or firestarter |
| Head torch | Rubbish bag (for others' waste too) |
| Warm layers — bothies are cold | Small pack of tools/cards — long evenings |
First-bothy recommendations:
- Ryvoan Bothy (Cairngorms) — short approach from Glenmore, well-maintained, good introduction
- Corrour Bothy (Cairngorms/Lairig Ghru) — slightly longer, classic Cairngorm atmosphere
- Shenavall (Fisherfield) — remote and dramatic; river crossings required; not for complete beginners
- Ruigh Aiteachain (Glenfeshie) — beautiful approach through Glenfeshie, popular with Cairngorm walkers
Browse all bothies in our bothies section.
Try it yourself
Our free Bothy finder
covers 80+ Scottish bothies with approach routes, seasonal conditions, MBA status and live weather.
No sign-up required.Frequently Asked Questions
What is a bothy in Scotland?
A bothy is an unlocked, unmanned mountain shelter available free of charge to hillwalkers and backpackers. Most Scottish bothies are former stone farm buildings or estate cottages maintained by the Mountain Bothies Association (MBA) under agreement with the landowner. They provide basic shelter — walls, roof, usually a fireplace — with no bedding, electricity or booking system.
Are bothies free to use?
Yes. There is no charge to use an MBA bothy. The MBA funds maintenance through membership fees (£28/year) and donations. Joining the MBA if you use bothies regularly is the recommended way to support the system.
Can you book a bothy?
No. Bothies operate entirely on a first-come, first-served basis with no reservation system. This is deliberate — it ensures the shelter is always available for someone genuinely caught in deteriorating weather. Always carry a tent or bivvy bag as a backup on any route that relies on a bothy overnight.
What is the difference between a bothy and a hostel?
A bothy provides bare shelter — floor space, walls, roof — at no cost with no services. A hostel provides beds, bedding, kitchen facilities, staff and usually a charge. Scottish Youth Hostels (SYHA) are hostels; remote mountain bothies are completely different. Some "bothy-style" hostel accommodation uses the word informally, but a true MBA bothy is always free, unmanned and basic.
Are bothies safe?
MBA bothies are structurally maintained to be safe for shelter. The safety considerations are: river crossings on approaches (several bothies require a ford that can be dangerous in spate), winter conditions (a remote bothy is a serious undertaking in winter — you must be able to reach it safely), and CO from fires (always leave a window cracked with a fire burning). Bothies in Scotland are used safely by thousands of people every year.
Related articles
- The Bothy Code — the rules and etiquette for using bothies
- Scottish Bothies: A Beginner's Guide — practical guide for a first bothy trip
- Wild Camping in Scotland — the alternative to a bothy night
- All Scottish Bothies — 80+ bothies with approach routes
Sources
- Mountain Bothies Association — MBA
- The Bothy Code — MBA
- Scottish Bothy Bible — Geoff Allan