Becoming Something of a Bothy Man
The last year has brought collaborations with the Mountain Bothy Association (MBA) and the Borders Bothy Association (BBA). Working with the MBA to put together a video on the Bothy Code and teaming up with the BBA to help with some low-level maintenance and, potentially, taking on a role as a Bothy Convenor.
When I started taking photographs and making videos I was in it to share my love of the outdoors and some of the facets that comprise such ventures in Scotland. I happened to make a video or two on how to access bothies safely and to stay in the country sustainably and they sparked enough interest for me to make a few more videos on that topic. We are now a couple of years in and with tens of thousands of views (not much by global standards, but enough for me to hope it is helping some people).
Bothy culture is many things to many people. Not all these things can exist in close proximity. There is a degree of contradiction amidst the loudest voices in the bothy conversation. Guard the locations fiercely is a common idea. To guard them is to close the circuit and make them something of a secret society. To open them up, as has been done, runs the risk of changing the nature of the things themselves.
The conversation, when it is treated as conversation and not debate, is a fascinating one as there is no obvious path forwards. Any solution would have to be dynamic in nature, evolving with the needs of the charities involved, the estates who own the land, and the people who use them.
There is no definitive guide to bothies and what is and what is not acceptable. Respectful compromise seems to be the best path forward from those who use them. I have received some kickback on the videos that I have made which was to be expected. It is not as much as I had feared, though. I was delighted when it became the MBA was embracing social media as a means to educate and interact with those who intended to use bothies.
With a meeting next week regarding my becoming a convenor, I think I best get to grip with these ideas in my head to help protect these curious places in a way that they are used frequently, sustainably, and respectfully.
Taking a break from chopping wood at a bothy.
