Brattleburn Bothy

Published 12 February 2012

Brattleburn Bothy surrounded by greenery
Brattleburn Bothy, on the Southern Upland Way

When I look back at 2011 I see a year which changed me so much. I took redundancy, walked across Scotland with a massive rucksack and a tent, and stayed in my first bothy.

And for that matter, my second, third and fourth bothies too.

This photo is of bothy 3. It’s Brattleburn bothy, about six miles away from the town of Moffat in Dumfries and Galloway and (you guessed it), it’s on the Southern Upland Way.

It didn’t quite look like this when I turned up. That’s because it was raining heavily and everywhere looked miserable. I only went to the bothy so I could get somewhere dry to put on my waterproof trousers but in the end I stayed the night and was glad I did. Especially once I got the stove lit!

The next morning though I woke up to bright sunshine and as I left Brattleburn Bothy I looked back and saw the building looking so delightful, so picturesque, so beautiful that I didn’t want to leave.

Maybe it’s pictures like this that have pushed the more romantic notion of bothies to the forefront to my mind; so much so that I’ve conveniently forgotten how cold they generally were, and how lighting the stove had meant I’d singed the hairs on my hand. Oh and let’s not forget about having filter water, and to use a shovel whilst going to the toilet.

On second thoughts, perhaps it’s better to keep the nicer memories closer in mind…

Want to know more about the bothies of the Southern Upland Way? Cunningly I have a video you can watch! And don’t forget to read about my Southern Upland Way exploits, or perhaps buy the book

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