Approaching the unmissable Easan Dorcha
Hear the word ’teahouse’ and the image of quaint patio furniture, tea cosies and small china cups leaps to mind. And although Easan Dorcha (aka The Teahouse) isn’t quite so twee as all that, it is a charming hut in an enchanting location.
The less café-sounding name, Easan Dorcha, comes from the name of the water that runs alongside the bothy. It translates as ’dark waterfall’, and the water does indeed churn a deep navy as it spills fast into the chasm below. Scots pines lines the water as you make your way to this corner of Wester Ross, offering many a spot for a camp with tent or bivvy, if you fancy an alternative.
The bothy sits on the massive Coulin Estate, and you’ll notice that one route to it crosses a pass that shares the same name. The origins of the bothy’s ’teahouse’ appellation can be found in its former use – as a rest-stop for the estate’s deer-hunting parties. In truth the bothy is small, and there are many walkers who – due to the lack of a fireplace, not to mention limited space – will only use it to grab a snack or drink and have affectionately dubbed it ’The Shed’.
Looking back on the delightful Teahouse
Basic it may be, but the peaks around the bothy are legendary. Take Fuar Tholl, with its rocky summit and climbing routes, the Munros of Beinn Liath Mhor and the red peak of Sgurr Ruadh – all within walking distance. Whether you pass them on the way in or the way out, the first time you arrive at the valley where Easan Dorcha sits you’ll be in awe. With pockets of native trees, distant mountains surrounding this high landscape and lakes reflecting the sunlight in the distance, it looks like a scene photoshopped to perfection. So don’t forget to bring your flask and be sure to stop on the walk-in – there’s never been a better place for a brew than this...
Did you know?
This small, unassuming bothy was visited in 2006 by Hollywood stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert de Niro while they were on location in the area making the film Stardust. Can you find their names in the bothy book?
Wildlife and trees: On the way in to the bothy keep a look out for the native red deer. In the water those with sharp eyes may be able to spy young salmon. When you reach the hut itself you’ll be surrounded by a patch of stunning Scots pine trees, as well as some birch and rowan.
Geology: If you head in – or out – via the alternative route described above look to the peak Fuar Tholl (which translates as ’cold hole’), which is popular among climbers. It’s also known as Wellington’s Nose because of its shape. You’ll also see some classic Torridonian geology here, with layers of sandstone and quartzite visible.
Classic: The most straightforward route, involving least ascent, begins at the layby on the A890 opposite the driveway to Achnashellach Station. Cross the road, head up to the train line and safely cross it. Once at the other side turn right onto the forestry track and follow it uphill. The path breaks into three, one virtually going back on itself (don’t take this one) and the others forming a fork in front of you. Take the one on your left that climbs uphill rather than down. Keep on it for several kilometres, through the forest, and eventually you’ll reach a deer fence at the Coulin Pass. Go through it and head downhill on the well-maintained wide track. The views begin to open up here. Follow this track all the way down to a bridge over Easan Dorcha. Once across it turn left to take the path alongside the river. The bothy is on your right.
Time: 3½hrs
Top tip
This is a tiny bothy that many choose to use as a shelter and tea stop rather than as an overnighter. Bring your tent/bivvy and be prepared to use it.
’It’s a glorified shed surely?’ I exclaimed when I first caught sight of The Teahouse. Unlike the stone shelters I’d stayed at before, this one seemed uncannily small and cabin-like. It looked like a miniature version of the huts you’d expect to find in the Alps rather than a run-of-the-mill bothy.
I’d spoken to other walkers who’d been here before and they advised me not to plan an overnighter – too cold, they’d said. But now when I arrived at the end of a summer’s day, it was as though it had been storing up sunlight for the last eight hours and now felt cosy and warm.
The whole place seemed like it touched the people who visited. One kind soul had even brought wood treatment in to attempt to paint the wood – it didn’t need it, the wood was meant to be left in the elements to build up its own protection – which a note kindly informed any future do-gooders.
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Inside Easan Dorcha – a small space big enough for no more than three
There were cups and containers for collecting water, and on the wall by the door was a bookshelf containing, among other things, some copies of Beatrix Potter’s books about Peter Rabbit.
I hadn’t read the stories about the adventurous bunny since I was a child. Now, in this pretty little valley, in the kind of shed I imagined the grumpy Scottish gardener Mr McGregor from Potter’s tales would have used to house his tools, I was a child once more. Nestled away in my little den, I was no longer in Scotland, but among the potatoes and cabbages of the garden with little Peter lost in a world of imagination.
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When I came to the part when Peter’s mother put him to bed, I got in bed too. I made some camomile tea and, like Peter, enjoyed my brew one spoon at a time...
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More ascent: While the classic route exposes you to panoramic views of the Coulin Estate, this will instead take you into some wild-feeling mountain country, where it’s peaks that surround you rather than expansive views. Start from the same point, but when you reach the crossroads after the station turn left to go slightly back on yourself. Follow the track through trees and shortly you’ll see a fainter path on your left, marked by a cairn – take this alongside the River Lair. Go through a gate and through a brush mix of gorse and pine trees. Soon the path becomes stone, and you leave the trees and climb up into the mountains. Ignore the first turn-off on your left, then when the path forks again take the right fork, and at the final fork stick right again. Follow this path all the way to the footbridge over the Easan Dorcha, and on the other side the bothy is on your left.
Easan Dorcha essentials
| Maps | OS Explorer 429; OS Landranger 25 |
| Grid ref | NH 012 526 |
| Terrain | Forestry tracks to the Easan Dorcha (river); from there a rougher but clear path leads to the bothy |
| Water source | River outside the bothy |
| Facilities | No fireplace/stove (fires not permitted outside either); shovel |
| Building | Wooden construction, metal roof |
| Inside | This bothy is made up of just one room. Inside is a bench and a small table as well as some shelving and books. There are no sleeping platforms – the floor will sleep two comfortably; three would be snug, four a squeeze. |
| Nearby hills | Fuar Tholl, Beinn Liath Mhor, Sgurr Ruadh |