Sunday, 16 November 2014

Accommodation

The total number of nights was 44, broken down as follows:

Campground: 2 (Bellingham and Kirk Yetholm)
Bird hides: 1 (Robin Aitken Hide - Pentland Hills)
Youth Hostel: 1 (Ullapool)
Bothies: 14*
Wild camping: 26

*Bothies and stage numbers where they appear:
Minch Moor s3
Dalnashallag s24, Melgarve s25, Blackburn s25,  Camban s29, Maol-Bhuidhe s30
Bendronaig s31, Leckie (off track) s33, Shenavall s33,  Knockdamph s35
Duag Schoolhouse s35, Glencoul s37, Glendhu s37
Strathchailleach (off track) after Cape Wrath.

I almost never walked past a bothy without staying. I’ll take this opportunity to send my best regards to Alasdair Veitch from Nova Scotia Canada who did quite the opposite. I followed him (via the Bothy books) through a sequence of regrets where he arrived, admired and then pressed on regardless. 

Bothies are much more frequent in the latter half of the walk. In fact there was only one in the first half. See the Mountain Bothy Association website for information and to read the Bothy Code.

As well as providing a welcome shelter and a change from the tent, they are all places of character, beautifully located and well-maintained. The notes refer to them as “very basic accommodation”. To me they were complete luxury, and one of the highlights of this Scottish journey. That sort of illustrates where I part company from the notes.

See my map of places I stayed.

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