Mountain feature
Bothy
Definition
A bothy is an unlocked stone shelter in a remote part of the Scottish hills. They have a roof, four walls, sometimes a fireplace — no booking, no key, no warden, no fee. Most are maintained by the Mountain Bothies Association (MBA); the rest are kept open by private estates as a courtesy to walkers.
Etymology & origin
The word comes from the Gaelic bothan, meaning a small hut or cottage — originally referring to the temporary shelters used by shepherds and stalkers in the summer grazing months. In the Highland Clearances of the 18th-19th centuries many crofts were emptied and their stone walls left standing. Walkers and climbers from the 1930s onwards began using these abandoned buildings as informal shelters. The MBA was founded in 1965 to coordinate a maintenance programme; the modern bothy network is the continuation of that volunteer effort.
Context & usage
Scotland has around 100 mountain bothies, of which roughly 80 are MBA-maintained and the rest are private-estate properties run on the same open-access basis. Bothies are first-come-first-served and unbooked; on busy summer weekends popular bothies fill before sunset, so a tent backup is essential.
The bothy code is short: respect other users (take turns at the fire, don't bring more people than the bothy holds), respect the bothy (burn only firewood you brought; never furniture or boundary posts), pack out everything you carry in, toilet 50m from the bothy and any water source, and sign the visitor book. Detail at mountainbothies.org.uk.
Bothies are not hotels. They are not designed for tourist use, and the MBA explicitly asks walkers not to publicise them as 'free accommodation' for casual overnight stays. The implicit contract is that bothies exist to support people on real walking trips — typically multi-day walks where carrying a tent every night would be impractical. Casual day-trippers using bothies as picnic spots are part of the cultural tension around the modern bothy network.
Related terms
MBA
The Mountain Bothies Association is a registered charity that maintains around 80 mountain shelters across Scotland, England and Wales. Founded in 1965, the MBA is run almost entirely by volunteers and funded by member subscriptions (around £30/year) plus donations and small grants.
SOAC
The Scottish Outdoor Access Code is the statutory guidance that sets out how the right of responsible access granted by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 should be exercised. The Code governs wild camping, walking, cycling, water activities, horse riding, dog walking and other recreational access across most of unenclosed Scotland.
Where to next
Reviewed 2026-05-28