Mountain BothiesAssociation

Annual ReportYear ending 31 March 2009

Tomaintainsimplesheltersin remotecountryfor theuse andbenefit ofall who lovewild and lonelyplaces.Designed by John Mitchell. Edited by Peter King.Photo Credits: John Arnott, Simon Birch, Brian Dawson, John Innes,Peter King, John Mitchell and Roger Muhl.

Camban 1969

We have been involved with Camban bothyin the western Highlands for over forty

years. In 1969 the Mountain BothiesAssociation undertook the first renovation of thisbothy, with the help of the Tranter and Parkfamilies. Bernard Heath led the project. Thewalls were secured, a new roof built andsheeted and a sleeping loft installed during thesummer and autumn of that year. In 2008 theMBA again renovated Camban, with Jim Rossthis time leading the workparty. The steelsheeting on the roof was replaced with pre-coated aluminium, the ceiling was raised andsleeping platforms built in place of the loft. Thiswork was done over a number of weeks andwas generously supported by the Innes family.

For some years the MBA has been using plasticpre-coated profile steel sheeting as a roofingmaterial, but we have found some conditions,particularly close to the sea, in which theperformance has been disappointing. Cambanis a good way from the coast, but with noaccess for wheeled vehicles it was decided touse a material for the roof in which we couldhave the highest confidence, with our choicefalling on the more expensive pre-coatedaluminium.

All materials were airlifted to the bothy and themain work took a fortnight, with a follow up workparty to complete final work, not to mention theconsiderable time spent planning and preparingfor the airlift. The Association is grateful to themembers who turned out to help, and to theNational Trust for Scotland, owners of the bothy,for their support and generosity in allowing thebuilding to remain open for the public.

Duag Bridge

W e adopted a new bothy in 2008, the oldschoolhouse at Duag Bridge in Ross and

Cromarty. As with Camban, the Schoolhouse hasbeen a bothy for many years, but had declined to astate of dereliction. The Association wasapproached by the owners, the Corriemulzie Estate,with a view to saving the building and following ourcustomary exacting examination of the proposal weundertook a full renovation in July last year. RogerMuhl led the project, which was funded fromAssociation reserves.

In this case we had fairly easy access to the siteand the building was reroofed with plastic pre-coated profile steel. It was decided not to replacethe badly decayed stove. Rather, whilst relining thesmall left hand room with wood paneling theopportunity was taken of installing 75mm DriThermcavity slab insulation in the walls. 200mm eco-woolinsulation was fitted in the ceiling over this sameroom and a double-glazed window, built by amember in his garage, was the finishing touch. Thisis the first time we have attempted to create a fullyinsulated ‘winter’ room in a bothy, and early reportshave been very encouraging. All the windows in theSchoolhouse were replaced and the building wascomprehensively smartened both inside and out.

We know little about the history of the Schoolhouse.It served a scattering of gamekeepers’ families, acommunity now all but forgotten, in the high countrywest of Oykell Bridge. The children have long gonefrom the glen, but we hope their school will carry onin its subsidiary role for many years to come.

The Schoolhouse

At Camban and at the Schoolhousewe have shown the MBAcommitment to maintaining bothies.Whether we have looked after abothy 40 years or are taking aninterest in a new project, if webelieve it justified we are preparedto make substantial investments.The final bill for Camban was£11,500 and that for theSchoolhouse £7,500. Thecontribution of our members, ineffort and skills, cannot be easilyvalued, but it was probably worthmuch more.

The maintenance report in the mainbody of this document gives abroader picture of the continuingeffort by our volunteers to retainalmost 100 bothies in a fit state tobe used by the public. We carriedout maintenance work during 2008-9 at 58 of these buildings, spendinga total of £45,000 on materials,transportation, safety and thewelfare of our working volunteers.Thank you everyone who gave theirtime, the bothy owners whogenerously allow our work tocontinue and often giveconsiderable additional help, and toall the people who use our bothiesand help keep them in order.

Giving proper thanks to all who deserve it wouldfill this report to the exclusion of all else.

However, the editor here notes a few of those whoso well merit our thanks for their hard work, oftenover many years.

Jim Ross has organised a host of projects, and agood number of bothies have been added to thosein our care under his supervision, including Raasay,An Cladach and Carron, to name but three. Hislatest project, a building called Mark Ferry, in Argyll,will be renovated by the Association early next year.

We may all grumble about paperwork at times, but itplays a vital role in keeping the modern MBA afloat.We presently have an annual expenditure of closeon £100,000 & there are some 4,000 members to belooked after. Jill Dhanjal has been a Trustee thesepast ten years and since 2002 has served as ourTreasurer, in which capacity she is the main link withour Finance Office. The very successful relationshipwe have developed with Henderson Black is in nosmall measure down to Jill’s efforts.

The busiest person during meetings is always theMinutes Secretary, and taking on this task now isBob Proctor. We have also gained a new GeneralSecretary, Brian Dawson. The Newsletter carriesall details of committee changes, and Bothy Noteslists all the stalwarts both on and off the committeewhose contributions to running projects and theAssociation are largely what makes it all happen.

The Association is particularly grateful to thosemembers who take on the task of beingMaintenance Organisers. Paul Hearne is among ourhardest working Maintenance Organisers and hashelped keep Wainhope open despite some troubledtimes.

Paul Hearne

Bob Proctor

Brian Dawson

Jill Dhanjal

Jim Ross

Mountain BothiesAssociation

Annual ReportYear ending 31 March 2009

A Scottish Charity, No. SC008685Registered Company SC191425

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.

Publications

Governance

Maintenance admin

Maintenance materials

Membership admin

Benefactors to the MBAEvery year we benefit from the generosity of individuals, their friends andvarious funds, who provide substantial donations for specific projects orfor our general expenditure. Several have asked for no publicacknowledgement, but we are delighted to record our sincere appreciationtoward them and the other benefactors listed below who have helped usover recent years.

John Innes (Camban)St Andrews Society of East Lothian (Camban)Mr & Mrs William G. Randall, in mem. Nicholas RandallIn mem. Anne Sutherland (Coiremor, Strathan)Stephen HiggsGeorge LambLilias Wehrle Legacy (Bothies in North-West Scotland)David Brown (The Lookout, 2006-7)Fargher-Noble TrustAndrew Jensen Memorial (Gameshope)Donations in memory, Dr David J. MillerThe Family of the late John Dargie (Strabeg)Langside Mountaineering ClubRochsoles TrustFriends of Bob Scott’sH.M. QueenKielder District, Forest EnterpriseChris Brasher TrustMichael WhalleyRt Hon Lord Smith of Finsbury (Craig)Donald Ward Trust (Corrour)Leneghan Family , in mem. James Leneghan (Corrour)DA Sommerville (Cadderlie)Frances AllenRoss Higgins BequestC.L.L.M. Fund (Bothies in Wales)Atholl EstatesRichard Ransome MemorialDavid Hunter Memorial (Cadderlie)

And moreRubbish...

From the beginning the aim ofthe MBA has been to bringtogether skills & enthusiasm ina common cause.

Enthusiasts giving their time freely is fundamental toour maintenance work. Although we now contractout for some vital administrative services, themaintenance work is still carried on by volunteers,with the support of bothy owners & other interestedorganisations.

Every bothy represents a positive relationshipbetween hillgoers and the bothy owner. Theunderstanding that remote buildings may be leftunlocked for hillgoers to use provided the building istreated with respect has certainly stood the test oftime; and over the past forty-four years MBAmembers have been able to help in many cases tokeep out wind and water.

MBA members bring a vast array of talents to thework of bothy maintenance. Some are skilledtradesfolk, others seem to be born organisers, manyhave practical skills learned from years of homemaintenance. Often skills are learned 'in the field',through working with experienced people, or simplyby discovering that sawing a straight line really isn'tso difficult.

Enthusiasm is every bit as important as practical skill.Many volunteers make their contribution by labouringat the unskilled tasks of carrying, holding and tidyingup. Others exert themselves in the cause of masscatering, providing tea and sometimes a full mealservice on our larger work parties. Such tasks mayseem mundane, but they have been vital to thesuccess of many a project.

The strength of common purpose is perhaps mostevident in the evenings at work parties, when thevolunteers gather at the fireside, or in the eveningsunshine, and the talk is usually about bothies andbothying. It is doubtful this has changed in fiftyyears.

Skills andenthusiasm...

We have been lucky in gaining the support of countless other organizationsover the years, including walking and climbing clubs, the armed forces, grant-giving bodies and many less formal, but no less committed, groups of friendswho have supported bothies with practical help and money.

Owners also provide a great deal of practical support, especially intransporting materials, often the most serious problem faced by our projectorganisers. Quad bikes, landrovers, argocats, boats and even helicoptershave been placed free of charge at our disposal, and the enthusiasm ofowners and their staff is usually a match for that of any of our volunteers.

...in a common cause

Log on to www.mountainbothies.org.uk and you may get a surprise.At the beginning of the summer we launched our new website.

Created by Hotscot of Fort William, the development process wasenthusiastically supported over the past year by a small working groupof members who have stayed on as the core of our new websiteeditorial team.

The design brief was to create a website that reflected the chief aims ofthe Association, so the new website features a much greater emphasison our work of maintaining bothies. We hope to provide a betterservice to members, keeping them informed of maintenance activitiesand other opportunities for them to join in with the work of the

Our New Website

Association, and to attract new support by showing the outdoors worldwhat we do. There is a gallery devoted to photographs of work partiesand maintenance work.

We have made it straightforward for any visitor to make a report online:to tell us of a problem at a bothy they have visited, or to tell us thateverything is well. Modern technology is making it ever easier toconnect with the MBA. Whether it is taking a digital photograph of aproblem that might be difficult to explain in a few words or going onlineand completing one of our simple report forms, all it takes is a few

minutes, or less. There isn’t a facility yet for submitting photographswith a report, but if you tell us you have photographs of a problem we’llnot be shy about arranging for them to be sent on. The Associationneeds the support of all bothy users and any report is useful.

To achieve its potential the new website needs to be kept up to datewith maintenance information, interesting notes about bothies, and tipsabout what other parts of the media are saying about bothies and wewelcome contributions from our members. The more visitors we get,the more folk we can give our important message: bothies are a fragileresource and must be used responsibly so they can remain availablefor others to enjoy. We can’t discourage people from using bothies, butwe can remind them of this plain truth.

Designing the new website has cost £6,500, which is less than either ofthe bothy projects mentioned earlier in this report. Getting the rightinformation is important, whether you are already a member or justinterested in knowing more about the MBA. Our new website won’ttake long to show a return on the investment.

www.mountainbothies.org.uk

Mountain Bothies Association is a charity registered in Scotland, no. SC008685and a company limited by guarantee and registered in Scotland, no. SC191425

Registered office: Mountain Bothies Association, Henderson Black & Co.Edenbank House, 22 Crossgate, Cupar, KY15 5HW