Blackburn of Corrieyairack bothy: small but perfectly formed
Back in the 1700s the commander-in-chief of the British military was one General Wade. While many came before and after him, his name is the one most familiar to Ordnance Survey map users. Why? Because it’s he who was responsible for the construction of a vast network of roads across the Scottish Highlands in an effort to connect forts and barracks and keep control over the people. And his legacy lives on in the roads identified as ’General Wade’s Military Road’ on Ordnance Survey maps to this day.
Of all the roads he constructed the best preserved is the one between Fort Augustus in the north and Melgarve in the south. Rising to a high point of 770m, and running impressively up and over the hills for a total of 40km, it is the longest surviving length of General Wade’s Military Road in the whole of Britain.
This section of road was built during his time in office, being completed in 1731. At the time, it joined together the Great Glen’s fort with the soldiers’ quarters over in the next valley. Significantly, it almost served as the site of one of the largest battles of the Jacobite Rising. Bonnie Prince Charlie took his men to the highest section of the road and readied for a fight. On hearing this, the commander took a squad from the south, marching up to stop the rebels. However, sensing that they were in a more vulnerable position, the British army retreated and the battle never took place.
Long after the wars the road still survived, utilised by drovers walking their cattle to market rather than by the military. After that method of moving cattle was superseded by the railway and eventually motor vehicles, the road fell into disrepair and is now only accessible to walkers and mountain bikers eager to walk an area often ignored by Munro-baggers, due to the height of the mountains.
The road is designated as an official ancient monument, and certainly worth walking for its historical credentials alone, but there is of course more to see than the track. For on the Augustus side sits a small bothy, left open for walkers to enjoy, which locals believe was originally built as a stalkers’ hut.
Thankfully the only battle you may experience is one with the often boggy and mainly pathless Monadhliath hills that sit to the east of the road, but your stay at the hut should be nothing but peaceful.
Did you know?
Most years the Speyside Trust, a charity which raises money to help people with a disability enjoy outdoor holidays, runs the Corrieyairack Challenge. This duathlon sees people choosing either to walk, run, cycle, mountain bike – or a combination of the four – from Fort Augustus to Badaguish using the Corrieyairack Pass, following in the footsteps of Bonnie Prince Charlie.
Detour: On your way up to the bothy, consider nipping off to visit the bump of a hill called Meall a’ Cholumain. Small it may be, and the 4x4 track up to its summit is not attractive, but the loch view you are rewarded with, down the Great Glen, will make you forget all its imperfections.
The open fireplace at Blackburn of Corrieyairack could probably tell a few tales!
Nearby bothy: If you opt to do the alternative route from Garva Bridge, it’s worth noting that there is another bothy en route called Melgarve. It’s not MBA maintained, but is a great one to link with Blackburn of Corrieyairack if you fancy a two-night adventure. It will be on your left nearly 7km after leaving Garva Bridge.
Classic: Start in Fort Augustus, where there is limited parking. Head across the canal and shortly after take the street on your right, passing the hotel, golf course and burial ground. A footpath will cut out the road junction, and then, once you’ve crossed the second road (marked ’Military Road’ on the map), a gate marked ’Corrieyairack Pass – Fort Augustus to Laggan’ will lead you through onto the main track, known as General Wade’s Military Road. Follow this uphill as it passes farmers’ fields and gradually climbs to cross a river. A gate leads onto open hillside as the path first zigzags and then swings round the lower flanks. Follow it until you come to another stream, called Black Burn. The bothy is on your right, a short walk from the path.
Time: 3hrs
Top tip
Outside the bothy there is a section of flat ground on which you can pitch a small tent if needed. Inside it’s worth noting that the open fire on last visit didn’t have a grate, which made it tricky to light – so take some firelighters with your fuel and be patient!
The MBA sign is a welcome sight at the end of a long day in the hills
I want you to know this is completely out of character. I’ve never started a bothy book entry by tearing out pages of the book for a fire first, but I’m sad to report, that’s exactly what I did on my first visit here, several years ago.
I had found the building by mistake, while I was on my way to check out the often-neglected Corbetts that line the famous Military Road. I had intended to stay in the town of Fort Augustus or call a friend to be picked up and stay with them in Inverness. But then I spotted it. The green roof, the unmistakable round sign on the door that us walkers can’t help but smile at when we see it; knowing that, for tonight, we will be able to escape from the elements and enjoy a basic manner of home comforts.
Going inside everything seemed to be in order, some candles above the fireplace, some books that had been kindly left to help pass the time, and, of course, the obligatory bothy book.
I picked it up, as I always do to read the stories of those who had been here before me. At first were the usual messages, the notes of thanks to the wonderful MBA, the tales of adventure, the scribble of delight from a walker who had happened upon this place for the first time. Then I came to it.
Not memories of a hillwalker’s day. Not recounted tales of the great outdoors. No, instead were 10 pages of offensive scrawl, evidently penned by some alcohol-fuelled former resident, a delusional polemic against the world and even themselves, full of expletives and racial slurs. It made me sad. And before I knew what I was doing I had torn them out – I didn’t want them to sully other visitors’ views of the people who come to these places.
As I watched the pages become consumed in the flames, feeling angry and a little guilty – had I behaved just as badly as they did, destroying something that wasn’t mine to destroy? – I continued to flick through the book. In it (and I counted) were over 100 more entries professing love and respect for this shelter. I’m not going to lie: sometimes the wrong kind of person finds a bothy and tries to destroy all the goodness that goes into them for everyone else. But it’s up to us to not let them. Finding mess and abuse will only destroy this great community if we allow it to. For every one person like this, there are thousands who only make the bothies better places and it’s up to every one of us to be one of those visitors.
Longer: Blackburn of Corrieyairack sits on the outskirts of the remote and rarely visited Monadhliath Mountains, so the intrepid may want to start further northeast to begin with an ascent of those little-known tops. However, if it’s just about adding distance you can take General Wade’s Military Road from the other side of the hills, starting by parking at Garva Bridge (some spaces on the left before the actual bridge), near Laggan. Simply follow the road as it cleaves its way steadily uphill. At the highest point of the pass, if feeling energetic still, you can add in a climb up to Corrieyairack Hill (a Corbett for any interested list-tickers) before descending down the track for about 6km, where the bothy will be just off the track to your left.
Blackburn of Corrieyairack essentials
| Maps | OS Explorer 401; OS Landranger 34 |
| Grid ref | NH 382 029 |
| Terrain | Minor roads to start (take care – fast-moving cars), then onto a wide but rough track to the bothy. Recent works have created a multitude of extra tracks – so take a map and the bothy grid reference to stay on the right path. |
| Water source | Black Burn, just outside the bothy |
| Facilities | Open fire (bring your own fuel); shovel |
| Building | Stone construction, tin roof |
| Inside | An internal porch is handy for leaving wet clothes. From there, go through the door to enter the only room. It’s not massive, but would comfortably sleep around eight. There are a few chairs and a table but no sleeping platforms. |
| Nearby hills | Corrieyairack Hill |