MountainBothiesAssociation

AnnualReport2010Year ending 31 March 2010

New external and internal

Doors to match existing

design

New windows and sills

Replace mantleshelf

New grate

New sleeping platform.

12MM ext ply, 3”X2”, 4”X2” scant.

Last summer a team of MBA volunteersdescended on Kearvaig, a former farmcottage just a few miles from Cape Wrath, themost north-westerly tip of the Britishmainland. A week of work was invested in thebuilding, which was suffering from damp andneglect. All external doors and windows werereplaced, as far as possible in the same styleas the original.

Kearvaig

Sleeping platform

The old... and the new

Fabricated off site

The internal plasterboard wasrepaired in places, but largesections were replaced withwooden panelling behindwhich moisture barriers wereinstalled. The ‘side school’, thesingle room at the east end of the building, was refurbished as a ‘snug’for winter visitors. As with any project, a great deal of planning was donein advance, and doors, windows and the new sleeping platform were allprefabricated, the latter being dismantled for transport to the site.Bothy maintenance isn’t primarily about conservation. It is aboutkeeping available a shelter that is safe to use and as easy as possiblefor us to look after, but the character of the building and the retention ofimportant features are matters close to our hearts. Making the windowsand doors look authentic and retaining other features where possiblewas an important part of this project.

With over ninety buildings in ourcare, many of our membershave been busy over the yearwith repair work. BesidesKearvaig, there were nine

bothies on which morethan £500 was spentduring 2009-2010.There are few bothiesso remote as Dibidil,on Rum in the InnerHebrides. Thelogistics of anymajor bothy workpresent a problem,and when the bothy

is on a small islandwith only a footpath

leading to thedoor thedifficulties

can mount.In June 2009

our members replaced a wooden floor,installed a stove and liner in place of anopen fire and carried on other works. Onthis occasion a helicopter wasemployed, as the most practicalmethod of moving the heavymaterials. In the past wood has beenbrought to Dibidil by boat, but thelanding is always difficult and relieson ideal sea conditions. Somemore delicate items, such as theflue liner, came on people’s backsthe 6 miles from the pierhead atKinloch.Perched on the northernmost clifftop on Skye, the former coastguardstation The Lookout is the mostexposed bothy in our care, whichdistinction brings particularproblems. Our first attempt to

Work never ends...

replace the wooden cladding on the outside of thebothy had to be abandoned because of dangerouslyhigh winds. On the second attempt the work wassuccessfully completed. The new cladding, like the old,is western red cedar, a durable wood that requires nopreservatives and is ideal for a position where evenstanding safely can sometimes prove a challenge andthe rain on its own can strip paint off wood in a matterof months.

Different locations, different challenges.

At Mosedale Cottage in the Lake District, the majorlogistical obstacle is the surrounding bog. Stuart Lewisand his team had the use of a snowcat to transport areplacement stove to this popular bothy. A quadbikewas used to bring a new stove several miles from thenearest road to Craig in the North West Highlands,while a boat was used to transport scaffolding to andfrom Peanmeanach on the west coast, for work on thechimney head. Perhaps surprisingly there is no recordof a sleigh and reindeer having been employed by usover the past winter, but most other forms ofmechanised transport have been used in the yearcovered by this report.We still on occasions rely exclusively on volunteers toportage materials to a bothy, as was the case atStrathan in North-West Sutherland. Work to be doneincluded new wooden flooring & masonry, which meanta lot of carrying for the stalwarts who turned out at thisworkparty: four miles along the ruins of a footpath.Remoteness does not necessarily equate withinaccessibility and we are fortunate that in many caseswe can get conventional road vehicles close to thebothy when work is required. Although the logistics maybe easier, the work is no less valuable and no lessvalued by those who make good use of the shelterprovided.This year saw important work carried on at Ryvoan,where the porch was rebuilt, Penrhos Isaf, which alsogot a new stove, White Laggan, Blackburn ofCorrieyairack and at a further 45 bothies, which meanswork was done at a total of 56 locations this year. Thetotal maintenance spend was just under £35,000 and1130 volunteer days were recorded.

This year saw a new bothy added to theMBA list. Mark Cottage stands on thewestern shore of Loch Long in Argyll. Atthe beginning of an old track headingwest into Argyll, the little cottage wasonce well known as the home of theoldest man in Scotland.

The renovation included work on the roofand remodeling of the inside. Old studwall partitions were removed along withthe stairway and a new partition nowdivides this little building, forming tworooms. The loft is no longer accessible,

but a sleeping area has been built downstairs. Two large velux skylights in theback of the roof were removed and the openings slated over. A modernkitchen/bathroom range at the back of the cottage was removed and the rearwall of the building has been returned to something very close to its originalstate. Other work included the installation of a new fireplace, guttering, newbargeboards and painting. All this effort was coordinated by Jim Ross asproject organiser and sustained by Margaret Pryde, who provided mealsthroughout the week-long work party. Around 120 days of work were clocked upby volunteers at Mark Cottage.

In any organisation there is inevitably a turnover ofpersonnel and an active voluntary group is no exception.Circumstances change, new interests develop andpeople move on, to be replaced by new volunteers whoat some time in their turn will stand down and so theprocess continues. That we were able to welcome threenew Area Organisers this year is an indication of thestrength of the MBA and the willingness of our membersto stand forward and take on responsibility for seeing thatour work continues.

Area Organisers are vital to the management of MBAprojects as they provide the main administrative supportfor the individual Maintenance Organisers at each bothy,often lead projects and play an important part in theoverall management of the association.

John Bygate, Tom Bell and Tony Blackburn took overrespectively the East Highlands, Central Highlands andWales. Our thanks to them, and to the three long servingofficers they replaced: Ross Farrell, Mike McLauchlanand John Tennant.

Another new face this year is in fact an old face. CalumMcRoberts served as general secretary in 2002-3 andhas filled a number of other posts over the years. Hereturned to the Board of Trustees in 2009. Calum McRoberts

John Bygate

Tony Blackburn

Tom Bell

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Benefactors to the MBA

Every year we benefit from the generosity of individuals, their friendsand various funds, who provide substantial donations for specificprojects or for our general expenditure. Several have asked for nopublic acknowledgement, but we are delighted to record our sincereappreciation toward them and the other benefactors listed belowwho have helped us over recent years.

Culloden Academy J.A. Fox J.C. Lang Elizabeth M. Anderson Dr. A. Anderson Richard and Susan Merelie Geoff Jenkinson Andrew Naylor H.M. Queen Andrew Jensen Memorial (Gameshope) Langside Mountaineering Club John Innes (Camban) St Andrews Society of East Lothian (Camban) Mr & Mrs William G. Randall, in mem. Nicholas Randall In mem. Anne Sutherland (Coiremor, Strathan) Stephen Higgs George Lamb Lilias Wehrle Legacy (Bothies in North-West Scotland) David Brown (The Lookout, 2006-7) Fargher-Noble Trust Donations in memory, Dr David J. Miller The Family of the late John Dargie (Strabeg) Rochsoles Trust Friends of Bob Scott’s Kielder District, Forest Enterprise Chris Brasher Trust Michael Whalley Rt Hon Lord Smith of Finsbury (Craig)

At the end of thefinancial year, 31 March2009, we had a total of4335 members in thecategories shown in thetable opposite.

This is a slight increaseon the figure of 4229 in2008 continuing theupward trend seen overthe past decade.

Membership Analysis

2006 2007 2008 20090

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

Total expenditure thisyear increased by over25% compared to2007/8. To give a clearpicture of how ourfunds were spent welist them in fivecategories: materialsfor bothy maintenance,publications,maintenance admin,governance, andmembership admin:

Expenditure Analysis

Maintenancematerals

Publications

Maintenanceadmin

Membershipadmin

Governance

0 10000 20000 30000

2005/6 2006/7 2007/8 2008/9

Expenditure 2005/6 2006/7 2007/8 2008/9

Governance 4799 9967 7242 7804

Membership admin 5583 5989 6502 10263

Maintenance admin 13939 14195 17997 18090

Publications 17888 19858 19677 24751

Maintenance materials 23928 31452 28197 45283

Total 66137 81461 79615 106191

Year 2006 2007 2008 2009Members 3237 3797 4229 4335Individual 2825 3171 3187

Overseas 57 71 76

Concessions 828 981 1008

Juniors 7 4 6

Affiliated 35 29 16

Life 38 36 35

Honorary life 7 7 7

Total 3797 4299 4335

No of membersYear

2006/7Members

3797Year

2007/8Members

4229Year

2008/9Members

4335

Amount spent Per member Amount spent Per member Amount spent Per member

Publications 19858 £5.23 19677 £4.65 24751 £5.71

Governance 9967 £2.62 7242 £1.71 7804 £1.80

Membership admin 5989 £1.58 6502 £1.54 10263 £2.37

£9.43 £7.90 £9.88

Maintenance materials 31452 £8.28 28197 £6.67 45283 £10.45

Maintenance admin 14195 £3.74 17997 £4.26 18090 £4.17

£12.02 £10.92 £14.62

Expenditure per member £21.45 £18.83 £24.50

Expenditure per member

The highest amount, £45,283 thisyear, was spent on materials tomaintain bothies - wood, nails,transport, tools, etc. Publicationscost us £24751 - newsletters, etc

- the equivalent of £5.71 permember. £18,090 was spent

on organising themaintenance - meetingexpenses, AOsexpenses, postage,telephone, insurance,financial administrationby Henderson Black,depreciation costs onequipment, etc.

Expenditure ongovernance was up this

year to £7,804 - in partbecause there was an election

this year. Membershipadministration cost us £10,263 –this is work by Henderson Black,direct debit charges, etc -equivalent to £2.37 per member.

Your comments on these figures,how we have spent the money,and how we have reported onthis, are very welcome - pleasecontact the treasurer or any ofthe trustees.

Publicati

Governance

Maintenance admin

Maintenance materials

Membership admin

The first ever trainingorganised by the MBAwas probably a week atBen Alder Cottage in1988, when the aim was toshare practical skills thatcould be useful in lookingafter a bothy.

More recently, the Association has organised regular first aid courses, using theservices of HSE accredited trainers to allow many of our members to reach 'firstresponder' status. We have also organized in-house training in financialadministration, to help senior maintenance officers handle their sometimessizable budgets.

This year, the investment of time and effort by members in acquiring importantskills useful in organising and leading maintenance work has reached newlevels. Supported by the MBA, a number of members have recently been on

A majorinvestment isbeing made inprovidingvolunteers with theskills necessary towork safely andefficiently. Wehave now hadthree trainingweekendscovering workparty organisationand working withscaffolding.

MBAin training...

PASMA (Prefabricated Access Suppliers’ andManufacturers’ Association) training courses,to learn the safe use of scaffold towers and

training courses for using abrasivewheels (angle-grinders) are also beingsubsidised.

The Association itself held threetraining weekends in early 2010,with a twofold aim. The first was tofamiliarise more volunteers with thepaperwork required to record thepractical aspects of planning awork party. We have an excellentsafety record, the result of soundplanning and the application ofcommon sense over the years,and the aim is to support thiswith a framework ofdocumentation to record riskassessments, the method ofwork and other importantinformation.

The other aim of thetraining was to makevolunteers aware of

Cuplok scaffolding, one ofseveral scaffolding systems widely used

in industry. Cuplok has been chosen over othersystems because it is thought to be the mostuser-friendly currently available. The trainingequipped volunteers to safely erect, inspectand dismantle Cuplok for a lift of up to 2m. Afollow-on course is being considered to coverplanning with scaffolding and the basic coursemay be repeated if enough members showinterest.

Some 45 members have been through these trainingweekends which were organized by MBA members LizBibby, Jim Ross, John Arnott and Roger Muhl.

The past and the present ...

S

epopulation of the British countryside progressed steadily through mostof the 20th century, leaving large numbers of abandoned cottages and

other buildings to the mercy of the elements. In time, many of these cameto be valued as shelters by hillgoers and the Mountain BothiesAssociation came into existence to preserve as many as possible in a fitstate to be used. At present there are 95 buildings in our care.

Peanmeanach

13

Bothies come in all shapes and sizes...Keeping these remote buildingsweathertight and safe to use is theat times daunting task undertakenby our volunteer workforce. TheMBA has a membership of 4,000, ofwhom about 500 help with thepractical work. New volunteers arealways welcome.

Bothies come in all shapes andmost sizes, but in the main they aresmall with only one or two rooms.Most were once home toshepherding families, cottages builtabout a century ago; but ourportfolio also includes a deerwatcher's bothy, a hunting lodge, acoastguard watch station, a school,two water valve houses, mineworkers' shops, a former youthhostel and several stables andbyres. These represent a broadcross-section of the rural builtheritage in remote areas of GreatBritain.

We have in several places rebuiltcottages in isolated and abandonedsettlements, where formerly dozensof families might have lived, thuspreserving at least an occasionalhuman presence. One of these isthe home of James of the Glen inGlen Duror, he being the JamesStewart who was a leadingcharacter in Stevenson’s‘Kidnapped’. Two cottages on theIsle of Rum, the cottage atPeanmeanach and Taigh ThormoidDubh, the House of Black Norman,

on Raasay are a small selection ofother buildings that have risen fromruins courtesy of the MBA.

Renovations vary in scope andwhilst this basically depends on thestate of the structure we may alsoconsider how a building could bealtered to improve its sustainability.We always hope to maintainbothies over many years, and thiswork can be eased by, for instance,replacing an iron sheet roof withmodern, more durable materials, orby adding new facilities, such as thesuccessful toilet at Corrour in theCairngorm National Park. However,as far as we can changes to thecharacter of a building are kept to aminimum and in many places wehave worked hard to replace likewith like. We have reslated many aroof, and at Greg’s Hut andWarnscale Head, both in the northof England, we renewed traditionalroofs of stone slabs held in placewith oak pegs.

The achievement of the MBAremains the existence of nearly ahundred buildings, some in themost remote and inaccessiblecorners of the country. As much asthe grand renovations, it has beenmore modest efforts of ourvolunteers on a regular basis thathave over the past 45 yearspreserved a sizable chunk of therural built heritage of upland Britain.

Greg’s Hut Craig, Allt Scheicheachan

Grwyne Fawr, in the Black Mountains of Wales, is aredundant water pumping house. One of thesmallest bothies we maintain, it is a good exampleof how a use can be found for unusual buildings inisolated places.

Doors and windows lend character toa building and the recent work atKearvaig hasby no meansbeen the onlyoccasion whenwe have madeauthenticlooking doorsand windowframes.Traditionalfittings havebeen reused inmany projects,or served as apattern for new accessories, such asthe wooden coat hooks at Kearvaig.At Kershopehead in the KielderForest our volunteers sourcedwooden trusses to support the roofand in Wainhope the floor plankswere also reclaimed fom an old mill.At Strathan in Sutherland thetraditional ‘middle room’ has beenrebuilt. The list could run for anotherpage, or more.

The main achievement of the MBAremains the existence of nearly ahundred buildings, some in the mostremote and inaccessible corners ofthe country. The often modest effortsof our volunteersas much as thegrand renovationshave over the pastforty five yearspreserved asizable chunk ofthe rural builtheritage of uplandBritain.

Photo credits: Alan Bellis, JohnBowness, Colin Brash, KevinCampbell, John Cameron, John Innes,Peter King, John Mitchell, MargaretPryde, David Robertson, Steve Smyth,Paul Webster, Anne Young

Edited by Peter KingDesigned by John Mitchell

Knockdamph

The Schoolhouse, Duag Bridge

Mountain Bothies Association is a charity registered in Scotland, no. SC008685 and a company limited byguarantee and registered in Scotland, no. SC191425

Registered office: Mountain Bothies Association, Henderson Black & Co. Edenbank House, 22 Crossgate,Cupar, KY15

maintaining simple shelters

www.mountainbothies.org.uk