Corrour Bothy

Corrour bothy is situated just below The Devils Point, Cairngorms. The Devil's Point (Scottish Gaelic: Bod an Deamhain) is derived from Gaelic, meaning "Penis of the Demon". The English name is a result of a visit to the area by Queen Victoria. She asked her local ghillie, John Brown, to translate the name; to avoid embarrassment he gave a euphemistic answer.

The name Corrour is used as a name for the locality as well as specifically as a name for the bothy itself, the name being derived from Coire Odhar. In 1949 the bothy was reconstructed by members of the Cairngorm Club, with help from a wide range of individuals and other mountaineering clubs

Archaeologically, the site is complicated: close to the bothy there are stones in the ground that appear to have formed part of some earlier construction, perhaps the remains of the summer shieling-huts. In Dixon & Green (1995) the authors write that they found "the remains of a hut with stone-footings, which is set into the grassy slope a short distance south-east of the present hut."

                               

Snow fall in the mountains has been very high this winter but the temperature also unusually high. This isn't always good for hikers wanting to cover a lot of distance at high ground as the snow will not harden. Crampons are useless and you spend a fair amount of time testing ground before walking across only for your leg to push through a small gap of uncompressed snow. Not to say this isnt fun... the whole enjoyment of a journey at this time of year is tackling the challenges that come your way... the sense of solitude in a stunning pure white landscape meant all the hard work was well worth the effort. 

When we reached Corrour Bothy a little later than expected we were greeted inside by two other walkers. Torben and Werner Scholz had decided to use the bothy for a nights stay as an alternative to the cold nights camp they had braved the night before. Father and son, they had travelled all the way from Germany to enjoy a Scottish winter in the hills. They seemed quite welcoming of the company, not only because of our fantastic charm and wit...! hmmm.... well.... maybe more so for our coal and candles which quickly heated up the stone bothy and provided light so we could cook up a feast of venison burgers, rice and soup!

The next morning we were awoken to the sounds of red and black grouse foraging for breakfast. We went out to collect water for a morning brew and film a few shots from outside the bothy, as we were in the process of setting up a shot a great crack, followed by a roar made our tired eyes open wide. On the face of Devils Point an avalanche came rushing down, although we were safe and an amazing force to witness, it reminded us of the dangers walking in the mountains at this time of year.

Next stop Bob Scotts!!