These days, Friday nights are best spent sleeping in remote Welsh mountain bothies!

Despite many years of outdoor adventures, a Friday night in April 2024 was my first time sleeping in one of these many free camping huts dotted around the UK.

Driving to Snowdonia national park in North Wales, our group of 3, good mate, Justin Oliver Davis, an adaptive athlete aiming for some big adventures (who I’ve interviewed on our podcast a few years ago), and Stefan Hoole, another great mate made when we both flew to the Caribbean to respond to Hurricane Irma in 2018, found this little hut at lake Arenig Fawr to yomp to and camp at.

The Arenig Fawr lake bothy hut is a small, rustic shelter located in the Snowdonia National Park. If you’ve not heard of them, bothies are basic, free-to-use shelters typically found in remote areas, often used by hikers, backpackers, and outdoor enthusiasts as a place to rest or take shelter from the elements.

The Arenig Fawr bothy hut sits right next to Llyn Arenig Fawr, a stunning, picturesque lake nestled amidst the rugged terrain of the Arenig mountain range. The bothy itself is a simple stone building offering basic accommodation for those exploring the surrounding wilderness.

While the bothy is open for public use, visitors are expected to adhere to certain guidelines, such as leaving no trace, respecting other users, and following the "bothy code" which outlines responsible behaviour when staying in these remote shelters. It’s managed by the Mountain Bothies Association, a charity set up to keep these fascinating places alive for future generations to use.

We set out to test out our abilities to walk in high winds, build better resilience skills (such as making fire) and navigate complex terrain (‘baby-heads’ are a pain for us all) in preparation for our own future sailing, mountaineering, fast packing and bikepacking expeditions - something we definitely managed over a brief 24-hour microadventure.

Here’s to the start of an exciting new hobby, ‘Bothy bagging’!

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