By Neil Reid, bothy caretaker
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Neil Reid on Beinn Bhreac, Cairngorms
It takes some sort of saint, right?
To trudge miles in all weathers, in scorching sunshine or howling wind and rain, in thick fog or through an exhausting blanket of snow, all just to clean up someone else's rubbish or carry out a DIY repair. And not once, but time and time again, year after year.
I've been one of those people for a number of years now and though some of the more miserable and extreme weather has prompted occasional feelings of martyrdom, I’ve never felt particularly saintly.
The thing is, it's just so much fun — and quite a privilege too.
I became involved in bothy maintenance almost 10 years ago when I heard there was a major renovation about to take place at Corrour Bothy – halfway through the famous Lairig Ghru route which runs from Aviemore to Braemar – a tiny, single-roomed cottage dwarfed by the massive bulk of Cairn Toul behind it.
I my first trip to the Corrour Bothy. To some it is a welcome refuge halfway through a long and challenging walk; to me it had been my introduction to a new world. My father took me to when I was 10 or 11 years old and I was both enchanted by the idea of a 'gang hut' for grown-ups and thrilled when we left a small tin of beans on the shelves by the fireplace, "in case anyone has to stay here but has no food."
This was my initiation into an adult world, where real mountaineers – and surely I was one now – helped one another in desperate situations. Our contribution would, I was in no doubt, stave off starvation and death for some hard-pressed adventurer.
The childhood naivety faded, but the love of mountains and appreciation of bothies grew. When I heard help was needed at Corrour, I wanted to do something.
