Bothy Clean Up

Just in from a day spent cleaning up the bothy in Glenfeshie. Bothies are such a wonderful part of our mountain culture, a place of shelter for many years for those walking and working in the hills, but sadly they are not always well treated. So, off I set with two mates - Heather Morning, who works with the Cairngorm Ranger Service and Di Gilbert, Climbing Instructor - to do our bit for our mountain heritage. To be honest is was a wet day when the tops held little appeal and a walk with a mission seemed a good idea. The bothy looked fairly good, but even so once you start trying to tidy up you realise that folk have still managed to leave enough rubbish to fill a number of bags. There was even an attempt by one group to bury a plastic bag filled with non-perishable goods, as if plastic and tin were going to disintegrate in a short time! They had tried to bury it, which was a start, but it was only 15 metres from the bothy and the plastic was left sticking out of the ground - not a great idea! After a brew we eventually set off home with various bags of rubbish and Di with a broken chair strapped to her rucksack. We probably made a rather unusual site but at least Di had a chair in case she needed to rest her legs, thought the legs were at an interesting angle to the rest of the chair! Please if you are out in the hills this winter DO NOT leave rubbish lying around. Both Julia and myself are keen to impress upon our clients that the mountains are to be respected and cherished for future generations and are not a dumping ground. Ok, I will get off my soap box and just say 'take your rubbish home' even if you think it's not bad to leave a little it all adds up! Enjoy the hills.

PS the photo shows Heather and Di and helper Milly who is a Search and Rescue Dog. If you meet Milly in the hills be nice to her as you never know when you might need her!