A bothy is a free shelter in a remote place. Four walls, a roof, maybe a fireplace. No electricity, no running water, no guarantee of a bed. You walk in, you sleep, you leave it cleaner than you found it. It's the simplest accommodation in Scotland and also the best.
The Mountain Bothies Association maintains about 100 bothies across Scotland. All are free. All are unlocked. All run on an honour system that mostly works because the kind of person who walks three hours to sleep in a stone hut in November is generally not the kind of person who leaves rubbish behind.
Six Bothies Worth the Walk
Corrour Bothy — Cairngorms
Walk in: 2-3 hours from Linn of Dee
Built in 1877. Sits below Devil's Point with the Lairig Ghru on one side and nothing else for miles. Sleeps about 12. Two rooms, a fireplace, and a view that hasn't changed in 150 years. The most accessible "wild" bothy for first-timers.
Shenavall Bothy — Wester Ross (near Ullapool)
Walk in: 3-4 hours from Corrie Hallie
The bothy King Charles stayed in as a student. Remote, wild, and surrounded by the Fisherfield peaks — Scotland's most isolated Munros. The approach crosses the Abhainn Srath na Sealga which can be impassable after heavy rain. Check the river level before you commit.
Camasunary Bothy — Isle of Skye
Walk in: 1.5 hours from Kilmarie
Under the Black Cuillin with a view across the bay to nothing. Free, always open, basic. About 8 sleeping platforms. The walk in follows a good track. The sunsets over the Cuillin from the bench outside are some of the best on Skye.
Ben Alder Cottage — Loch Ericht (central Highlands)
Walk in: 5-6 hours from Dalwhinnie or by bike
Reportedly haunted. A tin-roofed shelter on the shores of a loch accessible only by a long walk or mountain bike. No fireplace — just a bothy stove. Take firelighters. The remoteness is the point. If you make it here, you've earned every dram.
Kearvaig Bothy — Cape Wrath (far north)
Walk in: 1.5 hours from the ferry + 3 miles from the road
On a white sand beach that looks Caribbean until you touch the water (it's not). The bothy sits at the mouth of the River Kearvaig with Cape Wrath's cliffs behind. Remote, dramatic, and the kind of place that makes you understand why bothies exist.
Lookout Bothy (Rubha Hunish) — Isle of Skye (northern tip)
Walk in: 45 minutes from the road end
A converted coastguard lookout on Skye's northernmost point. Tiny — sleeps maybe 4. The windows face the sea and on a clear day you can see the Outer Hebrides. The shortest walk of any bothy on this list but the most spectacular ratio of effort to view.
The Rules (Mostly Unwritten, All Important)
- Bothies are unlocked, free, and never bookable. Turn up. If it's full, make space or pitch a tent outside.
- No electricity. No running water (bring a filter or boil from the nearest stream). No toilet (bring a trowel, dig 30m from water).
- Pack out everything you brought. Everything. Apple cores, teabags, toilet paper. If you carried it in, carry it out.
- Bring firewood or coal if the bothy has a fireplace. Don't burn the furniture. Don't cut live trees — deadwood only.
- A bothy is not a hotel. The person who got there first didn't reserve the best spot. Share. Talk to strangers. This is the point.
- Check the Mountain Bothies Association website before you go — some bothies close during deer stalking season (Sept-Feb).
What to Pack for a Bothy Night
Beyond standard hiking gear: sleeping bag (0°C comfort minimum), sleeping mat (the floor is cold stone), head torch, earplugs (someone will snore), firelighters and a small bag of coal or kindling if the bothy has a stove, and enough food for an extra day in case you get weathered in. A hip flask is traditional but not compulsory.
How to Find Bothies
The Mountain Bothies Association website lists every maintained bothy with grid references and access notes. Ordnance Survey maps (1:50,000 Landranger) mark most bothies as small black squares in remote areas. Geoff Allan's Scottish Bothy Bible is the definitive guidebook. And the Walkhighlands forum has recent trip reports with current conditions — invaluable in winter when you need to know if the stove is working or the roof is leaking.
Start with Corrour or Camasunary. Both are easy walks in, hard walks out (because you won't want to leave), and forgiving enough for a first bothy night. Save Ben Alder and Kearvaig for when you're ready to earn it.
Editor's Note
My first bothy night was at Corrour in October. I arrived soaked, someone had already lit the fire, and a stranger handed me a cup of tea without being asked. That's the bothy experience in one sentence. I've since stayed in a dozen more — some with stoves, some with mice, one with a guitar someone had carried 12 miles and couldn't play. The MBA volunteers who maintain these shelters do it for free. If you use a bothy, join the MBA (£30/year) or leave a donation. These places exist because people care about them. Be one of those people.