Old Buildings

Is it Will’s Bothy? Or Leysburnfoot?

I only ask because the bothy we used for our annual boys bothy adventure this year seems to have two names of equal standing. For instance, when I checked instagram for pictures of the bothy, I found nothing tagged Leysburnfoot but lots of pictures tagged as Will’s Bothy. But I checked the MBA website and…

05/01/2025

Kevin Johnston

Bothies, Kev’s Hill Walking Challenges, Microadventures, Old Buildings

abandoned, building, challenge kev outdoors, hungry media, railway, scotland, shielings, towers, trains, walking, Waverley line
Time for Bed

If I asked you about finding the perfect pea, you’d probably think I was talking about food again. I’m not a fan of mushy peas, but petit pois are lovely when they have a bit of a crunch about them. And don’t get me started on big, fat garden peas. This pea chat isn’t related…

15/07/2024

Kevin Johnston

Caves, Kev’s Hill Walking Challenges, Microadventures, Nature at its Best, Old Buildings, Writing and Musings

cave, challenge kev outdoors, coastal, Cromarty, hill walking, hungry media, McFarquhar’s Bed, walking
More New Year Bothy Therapy

The last time I made a plan of adventures for the year ahead was 2020. And you’ll remember how that year turned out. New adventure ideas present themselves all the time and I find it easier now to make one or maybe two plans at a time for the months directly in front of me.…

03/01/2024

Kevin Johnston

Bothies, Kev’s Hill Walking Challenges, Microadventures, Old Buildings

Camping, challenge kev outdoors, dalnaspidal, hiking, hill walking, hungry media, loch garry, mountains, scotland, travel
Storm Babet’s Bothy

A photo of my grandad can still be found on the wall in the restaurant area of the Cross Keys Hotel in Ettrick Bridge. What he is doing in the picture I can’t quite remember as I saw the picture about 12 years ago on a quick stop through the village. The Ettrick Valley was…

23/10/2023

Kevin Johnston

Bothies, Kev’s Hill Walking Challenges, Old Buildings, Photos, Writing and Musings

adventure, bothy, challenge kev outdoors, Ettrick, hill walking, hills, hungry media, over Phawhope, scotland, walking, wood
When can I go back to St Kilda?

What do you do when you’ve been on that “Top of my Bucket List” adventure? A trip to the St Kilda archipelago has been at the top of my adventure wish list for years. My 4am alarm call on Friday last week fired the gun on my excitement for the day ahead, while also giving…

07/08/2023

Kevin Johnston

Film making, Kev’s Hill Walking Challenges, Microadventures, Nature at its Best, Old Buildings, Outdoor Swimming, Photos, Writing and Musings

abandoned, Boreray, challenge kev outdoors, Dun, hill walking, hills, Hirta, hungry media, open water swimming, sea, Soay, St Kilda, Stac an Armin, Stac Lee, village bay, walking
Grid Square Journeys no. 5 – NN 9931 (Montreal)

I’ve never been to Canada, but when I do I hope it’s as lovely as Montreal in Perthshire in the sun. Yes, that’s right, Montreal in Perthshire. It’s no metropolis but rather is an old croft near Harrietfield with the same name as the largest city in Quebec. And yet for such a lovely area,…

23/07/2023

Kevin Johnston

Grid Square Journeys, Kev’s Hill Walking Challenges, Microadventures, Nature at its Best, Old Buildings

abandoned, challenge kev outdoors, cottage, harrietfield, hills, hungry media, Montreal, ruins, scotland, walking
Loch Con and the Field of the Flat Stones

With its single track roads and remote spaces, I’ve always been a fan of Highland Perthshire. So when by a total fluke I found an article online about Loch Con, it’s bothy and the walk in, I immediately added it to my ever-growing wish list of places to visit and waited for the ideal opportunity.…

05/06/2023

Kevin Johnston

Bothies, Camping, Kev’s Hill Walking Challenges, Microadventures, Old Buildings, Outdoor Swimming

bothy, Camping, challenge kev outdoors, con, highland Perthshire, hill walking, hills, hungry media, loch, Outdoor Swimming, scotland, walking, wood
New Year Bothy Therapy

Easter Earshaig car park to Brattleburn bothy is 6.7km, walking along part of the Southern Upland Way, according to my calculations using OS maps. After all the snow and rain over the last week, I was wondering how many of those kms would be on boggy paths and fields. Dave and I had decided at…

03/01/2023

Kevin Johnston

Bothies, Kev’s Hill Walking Challenges, Old Buildings, Photos, Southern Upland Way

bothy, brattleburn, challenge kev outdoors, cottage, hill walking, hills, hungry media, scotland, Southern Upland Way, walking