– from the Dungeon Hills, the Murder Hole and even the Grey Man of Merrick – but the one name that will always entice outdoor lovers is Tunskeen. Because without this stone-built legend, the legacy of all the other bothies we know and love may never have existed.
Did you know?
The range of hills above the bothy that stretch out into a ridge make up what is known as ’The Awful Hand’; it includes The Merrick, Benyellary, Kirriereoch Hill, Tarfessock and Shalloch on Minnoch. It’s not particularly tough in terms of technicality, but the descent and re-ascent makes it something of a challenge, as does the amount of boggy ground underfoot.
Look out for...
Wildlife: Both roe and fallow deer can be seen among these hills. Watch the sky as night falls for lingering bats. During the day you may see one of the local red kites.
Stars: The Galloway Forest Park was the first Dark Sky Park in Britain. It achieved this accolade because of the lack of light pollution in the area. It has been estimated that over 7000 stars can be seen from inside the park, as well as Jupiter – and even the aurora.
Top tip
If the bothy is full there is some space outside for a tent, although the ground is boggy and there’s a lot of long grass and ticks are a risk. Make sure you take some tick removers with you, or at least a pair of flat-headed tweezers, in case you need to remove one.
How to get there
Quickest: The shortest way in starts from the car park at Loch Riecawr. From there follow the forestry track as it passes above the loch under the cover of woodland. At the fork take the path on your left as it bears south. Ignore any turn-offs and eventually you will emerge from the trees. The path becomes a little rougher and wet, but in just over 1km you’ll arrive at the bothy.
Time: 1½hrs
Alternative route
Very hard: If you want to arrive after piling on the miles, then start from the south at Bruce’s Stones. From there head up to The Merrick and then follow the ridge along as it stretches over many undulating kilometres with plenty of knee-busting ascent. Eventually, after passing the summit of Tarfessock, continue on to the col between it and the next peak, from where you descend downhill (pathless) to reach the bothy. Make sure you have plenty of time and are confident in navigating using a map and compass even in bad weather.
Tunskeen essentials
| Maps | OS Explorer 318; OS Landranger 77 |
| Grid ref | NX 425 906 |
| Terrain | Forestry track, followed by boggy but clear trail to the bothy |
| Water source | Small stream not far from the bothy |
| Facilities | Stove (bring your own fuel); saw (if you use firewood left by others make sure you replace it – only with dead wood, do not cut live trees); shovel |
| Building | Stone/brick construction, tiled roof |
| Inside | The bothy is made up of just a single room. On arrival you see an L-shaped sleeping platform, a few chairs and a stove. The sleeping platform sleeps four comfortably; the floor space sleeps many more. |
| Nearby hills | Shalloch on Minnoch, Kirriereoch Hill, The Merrick, Rhinns of Kells |
LOWTHER HILLS
Kettleton Byre
A cosy one-roomed shelter in the often-overlooked Lowther Hills
Kettleton Byre, with its bright doors, is situated in the lonely Lowther Hills
When some of us reach the borderland between the Lowther Hills and northernmost England we have a tendency to speed up. We’re perhaps ending our Highland adventure and keep our foot down, intent on going home, or heading north to explore the ’proper’ mountains, complete with serrated tops and knife-edged ridges, further north.
However, edged between the speeding cars of the M74 and the Dalveen pass is the mass of undulating humps known as the Lowther Hills, pushing up the moorland like a crumpled blanket. They are not high. But what they lack in pointy summits they make up for in their crowd-free potential.
It wasn’t always the case of course. Romans once paced through the landscape in their efforts to seize Scotland; a battle they would never win. Among the marks left on the scenery, amid the velvet-like collection of knolls and hillocks, are signs of much more recent residents – farm buildings, dry-stone walls and...this little bothy. Once part of a series of three little huts, only this sturdy structure remains. The concrete foundation of one of the former buildings sits to its right, then merely the depression of the other to the left.
Recording a stay in Kettleton Byre in the bothy book
Surrounded by the empty Lowther Hills, Kettleton Byre offers a doorstep from which to enter into a proper exploration of a small but wild place. Don’t expect to see many wild animals – they seem to be tightly controlled with traps by the locals who want to protect the prize grouse that people pay to come and shoot – but do come ready to be the only human soul up in these southern highlands, where paths are few and views are boundless.
Inside your base is a homely, cosy room, lovingly decorated with perhaps the most ornate of all the bothy-book holders, made from brass, and a candlestick with the name of the bothy etched onto it. Best of all, above the bed is a poster that simply tells us to ’colour outside the lines’ – as if us bothy-dwellers, especially in a place so overlooked by most hillwalkers, need to be told.
Look out for...
Birds: This is a popular area for grouse shooting. As you head up to the bothy you will no doubt startle a few – which will in turn startle you with their calls of ’go back’.
History: To the north of Durisdeer are the remains of a former Roman road; not just that, there are also the former ramparts and ditch from a Roman fortlet – one of the best preserved in Britain.
How to get there
Classic: From the nearby village of Durisdeer head down the road towards the cemetery. Turn left on the track just before you reach the cemetery, passing some old farm buildings as you go. Where the path forks keep to the lower one, which stays just above the river. Follow it steadily uphill until you finally come to a large gate. Once through it, after a few steps the bothy is on your left.
Time: 1hr
Heading up the path from Durisdeer to the wild Lowther Hills
Did you know?
The hamlet of Durisdeer, from where this walk starts, is something of a film star, as it appears in 1978 version of the British thriller The Thirty-Nine
