Hapless tourists BURN 200-year-old bothy furniture in fire amid fears they were going to freeze to death

HAPLESS tourists have sparked fury after burning 200-year-old bothy furniture to stay warm after fearing that they were going to freeze to death.

A group of four unprepared tourists from England traveled to Strathan, in Sutherland, for an outdoor trek in the Scottish Highlands last month.

Alamy

But the men, only known by their first names George, Tom, Niall and James, did not have proper hiking experience, and some turned up for the remote winter trek in trainers and without a backpack.

Some of the group were also suffering from a cold and were only carrying one bag of logs.

The men said they initially planned for “a nice evening outdoors” but quickly became too cold and sought refuge at a 200-year-old Highland both.

According to the Sunday Mail, by the time they got there the men were “not in good shape” and had “almost fully fallen into cold water“.

The group said they were freezing cold and were worried that they would die of hypothermia.

And as a result, they tore up planks from a sleeping platform and began burning it with furniture in the bothy to keep warm, causing loads of damage.

To be candid, we lacked the proper experience and equipment… we were concerned about one or more of us being hypothermic while in a rather remote environment with no signal

The group’s report to MBA

To repair it, Bob Tateson, an 80-year-old bothy maintenance volunteer, had to make two round trips to the bothy with supplies and 12kg of timber in a backpack to fix the damage.

The volunteer maintenance officer made the journeys on foot and it took him a total of eight hours.

The group later wrote an apologetic report to the Mountain Bothies Association (MBA) explaining what happened and admitted that they “lacked experience”.

The four men, from London and Portsmouth, also said that they made a mess in the bothy and said “we could have been better about that”.

In the report, they wrote: “To be candid, we lacked the proper experience and equipment for what we planned would have been a nice evening outdoors, however, we ended up too cold.

“We had a bag of logs which didn’t go far enough in keeping us warm and we were freezing after a long journey.”

They went on to add: “We were not in the best shape…as some of us had colds”, and explained, “we were concerned about one or more of us being hypothermic while in a rather remote environment with no signal”.

The group also said: “We also had not left it the cleanest and I believe we could have been better about that.”

The men apologised for their actions and made a donation to MBS in a bid to cover some of the costs of the repairs.

Even your daftest hiker doesn’t wear trainers in winter. One of them didn’t even have a rucksack. Nobody goes on a hike without a rucksack

Bob Tatesonan 80-year-old bothy maintenance volunteer

But the incident has sparked fury from locals and hikers who have since hit out at the group.

Bob carried out the repairs as well as cleaned the mess that the men left after making two trips from his home in Kinlochbervie.

He said that the group might have had feelings of “hysteria” which caused them to act “unpredictably” after they lost signal on their phones.

Bob said: “There’s no mobile phone signal at Strathan.

“This might induce feelings of unreality and hysteria in young people and cause them to act in unpredictable ways.

“When people get desperate, their sense of proportion tends to leave them.

“What was completely startling was they actually submitted a report which said, ‘We went there and we left a mess’. I’ve never seen anything like that.”

But he hit out at the group for being unprepared for their hike.

He added: “Even your daftest hiker doesn’t wear trainers in winter. One of them didn’t even have a rucksack.

“Nobody goes on a hike without a rucksack.”

The MBA stressed that anyone looking to go on a remote trek in the Highlands should always come prepared.

A spokesperson for the MBA told The Sunday Mail: “It appears this group made a number of errors in planning and executing their expedition.”

The Bothy Code

A BOTHY is an open shelter usually in a remote location where travellers might have need of four walls and a roof.

Most bothies are old cottages and at least several hours walk from the public road and are maintained by the MBA.

While there aren’t ‘rules’ to using a bothy, the MBA developed a Bothy Code which contains some common sense, practical advice based on respect for the bothy itself, its users and the surrounding environment that they ask all bothy users to observe.

As set out on the MBA website, the code states:

Respect Other Users – Please leave the bothy clean and tidy with dry kindling for the next visitors. Make other visitors welcome and be considerate to other users.

Respect the Bothy – Tell us about any accidental damage. Don’t leave graffiti or vandalise the bothy. Please take out all rubbish which you can’t burn. Avoid burying rubbish; this pollutes the environment. Please don’t leave perishable food as this attracts vermin. Guard against fire risk and ensure the fire is out before you leave. Make sure the doors and windows are properly closed when you leave.

Respect the Surroundings – If there is no toilet at the bothy please bury human waste out of sight. Use the spade provided, keep well away from the water supply and never use the vicinity of the bothy as a toilet.
Never cut live wood or damage estate property. Use fuel sparingly.

Respect Agreement with the Estate – Please observe any restrictions on use of the bothy, for example during stag stalking or at lambing time. Please remember bothies are available for short stays only. The owner’s permission must be obtained if you intend an extended stay.

Respect the Restriction On Numbers – Because of overcrowding and lack of facilities, large groups (6 or more) should not use a bothy. Bothies are not available for commercial groups.