How does the Mountain Bothies Association decide which abandoned buildings to restore?

It comes down to a mix of practical factors: the building needs to be remote enough to be useful but accessible enough to maintain, have structurally sound walls and foundations, sit on land where the owner gives permission, and be in an area where volunteers can realistically reach it for regular upkeep. A charming ruin that ticks only some of these boxes won't make the cut.

Can the Mountain Bothies Association rebuild a bothy from scratch if it's completely collapsed?

No, they don't rebuild from the ground up. Volunteers can patch roofs, repoint stonework, and fix damage, but the building needs decent existing walls and foundations to start with—they're looking at restoration, not archaeological reconstruction.

Do landowners have to give permission for a building to become a bothy?

Yes, absolutely. Every bothy sits on someone's land, and the MBA needs both permission for public use and ongoing access for maintenance work parties. Without a cooperative landowner, even the perfect ruin stays off-limits.

Home for the Night

The MBA Bothy: When Volunteers Decide Which Stone Buildings Get Saved

The Mountain Bothies Association maintains around a hundred shelters across Britain, but thousands of ruined shepherds' cottages never make the list. What makes one ruin worth restoring while another gets left to collapse?

25 September 20267 min read