UKC

A few of us have some thoughts of heading to Bob Scott's bothy this coming weekend. It has been pointed out it's half term. Does this normally make bothies busier, or is it too cold at nights now for that to have an effect? We were thinking of taking 2 dogs, which is not to everyone's liking, so maybe a change of plans if likely to be busy 

In reply to girlymonkey:

As I always have a dog with me I carry a tent even when bothying. My one stay at BSB ended up a half night as people turned up late and I pitched my tent half way during the night.

In reply to Flinticus:

Yeah, I think we would just go back to the van if we needed to leave the bothy. One of the dogs isn't ours and both are lively and must be on lead all the time. So trying to pitch tents with them winding each other up would just be more hassle than it's worth! We will bikejore in, so it will be dead quick to get back to the van. Just not sure if it's worth even trying if it's likely to be busy due to half term

In reply to girlymonkey: 'One of the dogs isn't ours and both are lively and must be on lead all the time' - I bet that will be much appreciated by anyone else in the bothy !  Its the weekend and Bob Scotts isnt exactly a remote bothy so it will probably have others there   Maybe best to take a tent for everyones sake ? (thankfully, as it is the weekend, you wont have this grumpy git there

 

In reply to leon 1:

Well that's why I'm asking the question if it's likely to be busy!! I am well aware that it won't be appreciated!

They are likely to settle ok in the bothy if it's just us or a one or two others, but more people = more excitement. Mine would be fine on his own, but the two dogs together are excitable. 

As I said, a tent with them would be hard work, but we would bail to the van. My dog is tent sized and is in tents often, but the other one is bigger and not in them so much.

In reply to girlymonkey:

A dog bigger than a tent? Yikes. 

 

In reply to Babika:

Lol, monster dog!

In reply to girlymonkey: Since its impossible to know how busy the bothy will actually be is it not better to err on the safe side and think of others who may be there and plan not to use it? Two excitable dogs  doesn't sound like a hugely considerate thing to take to a smallish bothy that's notoriously busy and only half an hour from the road.

 

In reply to girlymonkey:

As a trustee of Bob Scott's Bothy Association I suppose I should respond, but not sure there's anything useful I can add here. I've given up trying to forecast how busy the bothy will be on any given weekend: times I've expected crowds I've been on my own the whole weekend, other times it seems half of Europe has decided to decant to Scottie's. There are often dogs in the bothy but in the main they either get on well or are kept under control by the owners. Most people tend to be tolerant of dogs anyway and it only takes one lost breakfast for people to keep an eye on any vulnerable food. Numbers of people tend to be a bigger issue than dogs: when you say "a few of us"... Bob Scott's tends to run by the MBA Bothy Code re asking people not to turn up in groups of more than five, although that's a bit flexible if some of you have tents and use them.

So there you go, not sure I've added much to what's been said already. If you do get up there this weekend, do enjoy.

In reply to girlymonkey:

I'd have thought that Bob Scott's was likely to be busy most weekends, half-term or otherwise. It's a popular destination!

In reply to leon 1:

As I said, there has always been a bail out plan! I was looking for whether it is likely to be busier than usual due to half term.

I wouldn't normally try going to a bothy if looking after this other dog, but my brother in law is about to leave for Antartica for 18 months and is doing a wee bothy weekend before he goes and we would very much like to join him to see him off. He only told us this after we had agreed to take the other dog. Hence I am trying to see if we can make it work. 

 

In reply to girlymonkey:

If the dogs are that big then they should not notice the extra load of carrying a tent each. 

In reply to summo:

It's not about carrying the tents, we have a trailer for the bike so weight is no issue (the dogs pull the bikes and trailer, which helps to calm them down for the evening!). The difficulty with tents is that we will need to have the dogs attached to us while we put the tents up, and if the bigger one in particular gets over excited by flappy tents etc and starts trying to jump on my dog to play, then it just becomes chaos. 

We might just come for a bit of socialising in the evening and then head back to the van to sleep, seems like the best compromise of still getting to enjoy the bothy but not being too much hassle

In reply to girlymonkey:

If the dogs are that bad behaved then is a bothy REALLY the place to be taking them in to - consideration for others?

In reply to girlymonkey:

Is there a reason you're looking at Bob Scott's in particular? I'd have thought you'd have better odds somewhere bigger and less popular - Glen Pean, for instance, or Meanach, or the Tarf Hotel if it's inhabitable at the moment.

In reply to OMR:

Thanks. If we don't stay then numbers are kept to the recommended. Tents are being taken anyway. 

Sounds like we might just come for the evening socialising and then head back to the van to sleep. That allows us to enjoy the gathering without hassle or upsetting people.

It's not a bothy I've stayed in before, I've always continued on to Hutchies or Corrour in the past

In reply to Ramblin dave:

It's my brother in law's choice, we are just deciding whether to join them or not.

In reply to subtle:

They are mostly fine once inside with a bed to lie on. It's putting up tents that I think would be problematic. 

I am VERY aware of not upsetting people, and wherever I am, if my dog is likely to be a problem, we leave. I have enough friends and family who are not doggy to be very aware and careful with it. I don't tolerate barking etc or begging. 

Sounds like we might just come for the evening and socialise a bit and leave when it starts to get busy. 

In reply to girlymonkey:

Little experience with dogs but would one of those screw in dog stakes solve the control problem while pitching the tent? Not much extra weight compared with camping gear etc.

In reply to oldie:

We have one, but I suspect the ground isn't deep enough there. As we will be on bikes, it will be 20 - 30 mins to the van, so probably the easiest option. That way we are out of people's way and self contained. 

This was never really meant to be a discussion about how to deal with the dogs, we are fine with that! Just wondering if half term tends to up the numbers in a bothy or if October is cold enough for it not to be affected 

In reply to subtle:

I realise it's practically the law that any thread mentioning dogs on UKC has to descend into a bunfight, but really.  Right from the start in the OP and several more times throughout the thread she's made it perfectly clear that she has absolutely no intention of allowing the dogs to disturb anyone else at the bothy.  Seems perfectly considerate to me.

In reply to girlymonkey:

I wouldn't worry about dogs getting in the way of pitching. There's loads of big Scot's Pine trees all around the bothy, no need to have a screw-in stake or anything else. 

Easy to secure the dog lead (mine is a longish length of climbing rope) to one such tree and leave you free to put up a tent and leave the dog freeish as much as the lead allows.