Culra Bothy |
Culra Bothy
Over the years Johnny and I have used the bothies scattered around the Highlands in our walking, cycling and back-packing trips. Access to Scottish Munros would, in many cases, be really difficult if it hadn't been possible to use these bothies. These bothies are maintained by the Mountain Bothies Association which is a charity that looks after about 100 shelters in some of the remoter parts of the UK. Most of these are in Scotland, they are owned by the landowners and are mostly disused farm buildings, hunting lodges, or estate buildings. They are looked after and maintained by the MBA whose membership fees provide the funds necessary for their upkeep at a very basic level.
Because we have used these bothies extensively over the years we felt that it would be good to put something back into the system by becoming 'houseparents' for one of them. We were looking for something that was reasonably remote but still accessible by bus, train or car. Culra Bothy eventually came up and we, along with the climbing group we belong to, have decided to take it on. These are some of the photos that we took on an exploratory trip in to see exactly what it was that we were committing our selves to.
The Bothy is beautifully situated, has easy access to 8 Munros with a few more a bit further away. It is near to Dalwhinnie on the Edinburgh-Perth-Inverness rail line. There is no firewood although there are good fireplaces in the bothy. There are sleeping platforms for about 22 people although there are no mattresses and no bedding.
How to get to Culra Bothy
It is quite a long slog by foot, but we've also done it several times by Shank's Pony (coming out at least). One great trip is to take the train to Corrour Station on the Glasgow to Fort William line. You can stay overnight at the Station Hostel, or you can stay at the Loch Ossian YHA hostel a couple of km east of the station. From either spot there are lots of fine hills and walks in the neighbourhood. Walking west you can get to Culra by walking over the Beinn Eibhein group or over Ben Alder - or over the bealach between them. Have a look at the OS map. After a night a Culra it is an easy walk out to Dalwhinnie station and the rail line back to Edinburgh or Glasgow. Or better still there are lots of hills near Culra for the putative munroist!
For us the best way in to Culra is by cycle from Dalwhinnie ,and there is a good cycling track right up to the door of the bothy. The cycle ride is easy and mostly flat along the shore of Loch Ericht for about five miles - it's tarmac and fairly level. There are two starting points for it - one from the station or from behind the petrol station. We presume you will have the O/S map which makes it all very clear. Anyway after about a mile along the loch you go past the new 'gate house' and after a further few miles along the loch, just before the big house, take the right fork up the steep hill to the moor and just keep on going up and northwards. This part of the road is good quality gravel and stone and is easy on a hybrid or mountain bike. On going down the hill take the left fork around the west side of the loch and over the rope bridge which can be fun with full panniers etc! On the other side of the loch there is another fork - again take the left fork and you just go on up hill and down dale till you get there. This is relatively stony but easy enough with a mountain bike but could be the death of something feeble with small tyres. It takes us about an hour and a half going full pelt either way - there is very little altitude rise over the whole but the hump between the two glens is about 200 feet.
The bothy is basic but good. There are two fireplaces but neither throws out much heat. The wood is miles away - we note that quite a lot of people bring in charcoal or coke for the fire - we use a good petrol cooker instead. Of course, everything you need to eat and drink needs to be taken in and the rubbish taken out. If you don't take your rubbish out, then we have to take it out ourselves, so please remember to leave the both clean and to take all of your refuse out with you. There are sleeping platforms for thermorests to get you off the floor and away from draughts. There is room for about 22 people using all three parts of the building. The midges can be fierce from late July onwards. There is no toilet but there's the standard spade for you to use to dig your own personal hole in the heather and then to cover it up again. But not for long as it is one of the busiest bothies in the Highlands and we will be putting in a composting toilet next year. Basically one needs to bring everything - the bothy is for shelter only. The Munros near it are all lovely to climb and very near once one has got this far - on long summers day it is possible to do Ben Alder and Aonach Beg after cycling in, another ben or two the next day and cycle out with ease.
Winter is another matter. In winter it could be possible to get in by bike one day and snow-bound the next. Drumochter Pass, the pass from which the road in takes off, is the highest in the Highlands over which the railway runs. So conditions can be fierce and life-threatening in winter, and in January and February - and even later - access by bike is impossible.
The track to the bothy from Dalwhinnie is not accessible to the general public by vehicle, except for bringing in supplies by special request to the estate factor. Please do not ask for permission to go in by vehicle as doing so compromises the MBA's position vis-a-vis supplying and maintaining the Bothy. Anyway the point is to get a bit of exercise getting in and out - its only about 1½ hours in by bike and 3-4 hours on foot.
We hope that you enjoy your stay in Culra and that you have a great time there. Let us know if you have any questions and we'll try to answer them. If you do e-mail:
We love it!!
Go back to the main page of Grant's Personal Pages
