On paper, the prospect of spending the night in a small, unheated hut that once housed pigs was not overly appealing. But Peppercombe bothy on the North Devon coast also has uninterrupted sea views, no neighbours for miles and the sounds of the natural world filtering through the surrounding woodland. I was sold.
For anybody unfamiliar with a bothy, it’s a building that originally had another purpose – shepherd’s hut, gamekeeper’s cabin or, as at Peppercombe, a piggery – that has been converted into a basic shelter for use by outdoor enthusiasts. It’s a stone tent essentially, often in a wild location, meaning they tend to be found in Scotland, remote areas of Wales and northern England. Other countries have cabins, mountain huts or backcountry bunks but only Britain has bothies.
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The Simple Things (Digital) - 1 Issue, August 2016 - Issue 50