This book reminded me of Olivia Laing's deep reflective insights into a single focus. It also reminded me of A Flat Place by Naureen Masud.
A meditative fusion of a personal memoir and a detailed researched study into the history, geography, nature and unique stories of isolation bothy buildings.

Take time to reflect on the deeper meanings. It made me put my walking boots on and get out into the nature & remember me that we need to take better care of it.

This was an ASMR experience for me. I love to watch videos of people going camping and see how they cook and enjoy themself in nature. This book was that, but I could read slowly and savour every word. It's been a while since I read something that is not a novel, and I am so glad I read this book because it gave me insight into something I previously hadn't thought existed. This book is perfect for people who love to go hiking, camping and exploring life, quite simply. I truly enjoyed myself, and I only wished for it to be longer.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!

Last month, I finished walking the West Highland Way, and one of the first questions I was asked when I returned was: “Did you stay in a bothy?”. I did not – but if I had read Kat’s brilliant book only a little earlier, perhaps I would have felt brave enough to try!

To casual hikers and those uninitiated into their secrets, bothies may seem mysterious and opaquely elite places of shelter, off-limits to all but a higher ‘tier’ of walker. Yet in Bothy, Kat peels back the curtain to show us that this isn’t the case, and that historically, bothies (however this may be changing now!) have always been accessible to all – and how each is as compelling as the last.

Kat has poured hours of research into this book, and it shows in the eloquence and depth of her writing. Chapter-by-chapter, Kat takes us to the bothies she has visited, sharing her memories of these spaces, and painting a rich picture of each in its physical and historical landscape. She delves further into current philosophical considerations surrounding their use and political position.

Peppered throughout are fascinating extracts from bothy books (think: visitor books) spanning the decades, and occasionally, the centuries. These entries – which are sometimes only a sentence, or a drawing or a poem – range from the charming, to the humorous, to the poignant, and give Bothy a beating, human heart. Kat shares one particularly powerful entry, penned by a soldier who died in war before he could fulfil his heartfelt wish to one day return. I also adored entries written by solo – or pairs of – women bothiers, who were striking up into the hills in the early years of a century where I hadn’t expected to read about such freedom!

Bothy is not without it’s flaws. Occasionally, a quote Kat has cherry-picked to drop in (often from a notable figure or thinker) sits awkwardly, a little untethered or questionably relevant. I had also expected a stronger personal narrative thread to guide me through the book’s pages, but Bothy sits closer to the crossroads of social history and nature writing than it does to a traditional memoir.

“Stories have power, but whose stories we tell, and how, matters, especially now in a time of environmental crisis and social conflict.”

Much like a typical mountain ramble, it took me a couple of chapters to find my stride and sink into Bothy’s rhythm. Once in, all there was left to do was to lean in and enjoy the wild, wet and windswept journey … And to catalyse on all of the inspiration and confidence Kat has given me to plan my first bothy visit!

With thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eArc of the book.

At one point in Bothy, Kat Hill asks 'who didn't have a secret hideaway as a kid?', be it a tree house, a den in the garden, or a cubbyhole in your house. More to the point, who didn't want one? That's the appeal of bothies, discovering a quiet little spot free of distractions to allow time to decompress. Kat Hill captures those feelings well - enjoying the quiet time, feeling the excitement of finding the 'secret' bothies passed on by word of mouth rather than Google, and also of sharing them on occasion with friends and strangers alike.

The scenery is well described, and I found myself looking up many spots described as she made the various spots sound picturesque and interesting.

My only gripe was that I found this a little heavy - it's personal taste, I like a funny and light travelogue rather than a 'finding yourself' type, but it meant I found this slower going.

However, overall it was an enjoyable read.

Eine Bothy ist ein Ort, der Wanderern in Großbritannien Schutz bietet. Meistens ist es eine kleine Hütte, die von nur vier Wänden bis hin zu mehreren Zimmern mit Stromversorgung durch Solarpanelen alles bieten kann. Waren sie am Anfang nur als Übernachtungsmöglichkeit für eine Nacht oder als Schutz vor Unwettern gedacht, kann man manche von ihnen mittlerweile auch mieten. Im Lauf mehrerer Monate besucht Kat Hill mehrere von ihnen und erzählt in ihrem Buch von diesen Besuchen.

Zitat "We all need refuge from something at one time or another"

Auch wenn man diesen Satz nicht nur auf eine kleine Hütte in der Wildnis beziehen muss, beschreibt er für mich sehr schön, was eine Bothy ist. Ich habe bei Wanderungen in Schottland selbst in Bothys übernachtet und vieles von dem, was Kat Hill beschrieben hat, habe ich ähnlich erlebt. Sie trifft auf unterschiedliche Arten von Wanderern, denn jeder erlebt die Natur, in der er unterwegs ist, anders. Manche wollen nur Kilometer machen und für sich allein bleiben, andere interessieren sich für die Geschichte der Bothy und den Menschen, die sie dort antreffen.

Das wird Kat Hill besonders deutlich, als sie von Cape Wrath zur Kearvaig Bothy wandert. Auf ihrem Weg dorthin trifft sie auf Touristen in Wohnmobilen, die nicht kaum ihr Fahrzeug verlassen, einen jungen Mann, der den gesamten Cape Wrath Trail wandert und der kaum den Blick vom Pfad hebt, aber auch Personen, die die Landschaft mit der gleichen Begeisterung betrachten, die sie spürt.

Mir hat es großen Spaß gemacht, Kat Hill zu begleiten. Sie erzählt nicht nur von ihren Wanderungen, sondern auch von den Menschen, die sie begleiten und den Gesprächen, die sie führt. Jede der Bothys, über die sie schreibt, hat nicht nur ein Kapitel im Buch, sondern steht auch für einen Abschnitt in ihrem Leben. Jede Wanderung verändert den Menschen, der sie macht und das trifft auch auf die Autorin zu. Die Arbeit für das Buch dauert drei Jahre und am Ende ist sie an einem Platz in ihrem Leben, an dem sie sich am Anfang ihres Projekts nie gesehen hätte. Trotzdem ist sie dort glücklicher, als sie es früher war.

Kat Hill erzählt von etwas, das ich selbst erlebt habe und an das ich mich gerne erinnere. Aber auch ohne in einer Bothy geschlafen zu haben, ist ein besonderes Buch.