Kettleton Byre, with its bright doors, is situated in the lonely Lowther Hills
When some of us reach the borderland between the Lowther Hills and northernmost England we have a tendency to speed up. We’re perhaps ending our Highland adventure and keep our foot down, intent on going home, or heading north to explore the ’proper’ mountains, complete with serrated tops and knife-edged ridges, further north.
However, edged between the speeding cars of the M74 and the Dalveen pass is the mass of undulating humps known as the Lowther Hills, pushing up the moorland like a crumpled blanket. They are not high. But what they lack in pointy summits they make up for in their crowd-free potential.
It wasn’t always the case of course. Romans once paced through the landscape in their efforts to seize Scotland; a battle they would never win. Among the marks left on the scenery, amid the velvet-like collection of knolls and hillocks, are signs of much more recent residents – farm buildings, dry-stone walls and...this little bothy. Once part of a series of three little huts, only this sturdy structure remains. The concrete foundation of one of the former buildings sits to its right, then merely the depression of the other to the left.
Recording a stay in Kettleton Byre in the bothy book
Surrounded by the empty Lowther Hills, Kettleton Byre offers a doorstep from which to enter into a proper exploration of a small but wild place. Don’t expect to see many wild animals – they seem to be tightly controlled with traps by the locals who want to protect the prize grouse that people pay to come and shoot – but do come ready to be the only human soul up in these southern highlands, where paths are few and views are boundless.
Inside your base is a homely, cosy room, lovingly decorated with perhaps the most ornate of all the bothy-book holders, made from brass, and a candlestick with the name of the bothy etched onto it. Best of all, above the bed is a poster that simply tells us to ’colour outside the lines’ – as if us bothy-dwellers, especially in a place so overlooked by most hillwalkers, need to be told.
Birds: This is a popular area for grouse shooting. As you head up to the bothy you will no doubt startle a few – which will in turn startle you with their calls of ’go back’.
History: To the north of Durisdeer are the remains of a former Roman road; not just that, there are also the former ramparts and ditch from a Roman fortlet – one of the best preserved in Britain.
Classic: From the nearby village of Durisdeer head down the road towards the cemetery. Turn left on the track just before you reach the cemetery, passing some old farm buildings as you go. Where the path forks keep to the lower one, which stays just above the river. Follow it steadily uphill until you finally come to a large gate. Once through it, after a few steps the bothy is on your left.
Time: 1hr
Heading up the path from Durisdeer to the wild Lowther Hills
Did you know?
The hamlet of Durisdeer, from where this walk starts, is something of a film star, as it appears in 1978 version of the British thriller The Thirty-Nine Steps. The little white cottage here stands in as the village post office in Strathallan.
I couldn’t imagine what it might be like being a child in a bothy, being able to sleep out in a stone shelter in the middle of nowhere, being allowed to stay up late by a fire blazing, drinking a cup of hot chocolate in my pyjamas. So I don’t know how a little girl called Ellie felt when her mother brought her to Kettleton Byre, one summer in 2014, and they spent two nights curled up in their momentary home shut away from the rest of the world, far from TVs and mobile phones.
Always be sure to look for the bothy book when you arrive
After reading about their adventure in the bothy book, high above the farming land, I went outside to sit on the little bench. Under the stars I listened to the sounds – a distant ’baa’ from a sheep, the swoop of a bat overhead, the ’go-back’ call of the grouse among the long tufts of grass. Up here my phone had no reception, I couldn’t speak to anyone, couldn’t check my email or go on Twitter to share my story. I was removed from all the distractions we thrust at ourselves to block out the time we spend alone.
I lingered a while thinking how near I was to the rest of the world, yet how far removed I felt from it. Despite the early autumn warmth I felt myself tingle – a shiver or a burst of excitement, in my current predicament – I know not which one. But there I stayed, dwelling on this sensation just a little longer.
Eventually, I checked the time and was taken aback to realise it was already the next day – five past midnight to be exact. I thought of what other people my age would be doing on this, a Saturday night. Some would be out in the pub, surrounded by snippets of other people’s conversations – the yell of an overexcited storyteller in one corner, the hushed toned of a confession in another – others would be at home with their loved ones snuggled up on the couch, with the warmth of central heating, their faces turned multi-coloured by the glow of the light from the television. But me? I was here alone in a bothy, on my own mini-adventure.
I went inside and changed ready for bed, threw another log on the fire and began to boil some water so that I might make some hot chocolate. Then I caught sight of myself in the reflection in the window. I chuckled to myself... I may be a lot older than five but I was lying before – I knew exactly what it felt to be Ellie, and it made me smile.
Hard: If you want to explore some of the Lowther Hills before you reach your shelter, then instead of heading south out of the village of Durisdeer, head north on a track that takes you to the top of Durisdeer Hill. From there follow the fenceline (pathless) first to Little Scaw’d Law, Scaw’d Law and then on to Glenleith Fell. Now pick up a wider track down to Blackhill Moss. Turn right onto the main track and then follow it round to the north, to approach the bothy from the south. It will be on your right.
Top tip
There’s lots of flat ground outside the bothy, as this used to be the site of several buildings, and this offers a good Plan B if the building is full. Don’t light a fire outside as others clearly have done. Note that during lambing season (15 April to 31 May) the bothy is not available.
Kettleton Byre essentials
| Maps | OS Explorer 329; OS Landranger 78 |
| Grid ref | NS 912 020 |
| Terrain | Tarmac to start, then loose stone, followed by grassy Landrover track |
| Water source | Stream just before the gate to the bothy |
| Facilities | Stove (no fuel, bring your own); shovel |
| Building | Stone and brick construction, tile roof |
| Inside | This bothy is made up of just one room. You enter via a small porchway area, then go through the door to the main room. Here there’s an L-shaped raised sleeping platform that comfortably sleeps four. There’s also a small table, a couple of chairs and a stove. |
| Nearby hills | Wedder Law, Scaw’d Law, Little Scaw’d Law |