"It's a Sh*t Job!" - Bothy Guardian Searches for an Assistant
The Mountain Bothies Association is looking for an assistant Maintenance Organiser for the iconic Corrour Bothy in the Cairngorms. This voluntary post will not be for everyone, they say.
Long-awaited news came today, when the Mountain Bothies Association announced that Culra bothy is to be rebuilt. Popular for decades, the bothy, which occupies a prime spot under the Ben Alder massif, was declared unsafe for public use and closed in March 2014, following the discovery of asbestos in the fabric of the building.
© Dan Bailey
Work is expected to begin mid-October 2025, with the aim of having the new bothy available for use early in the New Year.
"This will be one of our most expensive projects to date and will require the use of private contractors to remove asbestos and to construct the replacement bothy" say the MBA in a statement today, a joint announcement with the bothy's owners the Ben Alder Estate.
Once the hazard is professionally removed, MBA volunteers will demolish the existing building, and will then also fit out the interior of the new bothy.
"Whilst we will be able to meet the cost from our existing funds, it could adversely impact on our ongoing programme of annual maintenance and plans for new bothies. We would therefore welcome contributions from the outdoors community" say the MBA.
Comments
Wow, has it been closed for eleven years? How time flies.
And how long does asbestosis take to materialise?
The concern at Culra was, I think, asbestos sheeting - a.k.a. 'fibro', or 'AC sheeting' - a pressed material composed of cement and asbestos fibres, which used to be a very common building material for things like sheds, beach houses, etc. etc. It is much less pernicious than loose asbestos, and it really only constitutes a risk if it's broken up. So, if you're asking your second question because you have stayed at Culra in the past, then I personally wouldn't be concerned about it.
Various asbestos derived diseases can take up a couple of decades to show themselves. I spend a good part of my working in life in old buildings, some of which might have asbestos. I'm 61 so probably not got more than a couple for decades myself, but death from asbestos derived diseases is invariably extremely horrible so it's best avoided. I turn into the biggest health and safety jobsworth where asbestos is concerned.
If there is/was any lying around in the bothy, it could be as simple a scenario that some dust gets released into the air by moving rucksacks or bags of coal around. Most likely you'd be fine, but why bother to find out?
Personally I felt the Ben Alder Group to be enhanced without the Bothy, and reconstructing after removal, to be at odds with the principles of trying to preserve wild land.
But I suspect I’m a minority.
A minority of two so far.
I've been in a few times since the bothy closed, always some tents by the river, it's a popular spot.