Ben Alder Cottage: Spending a night alone in Scotland's most remote and haunted Bothy
Many of Britain's bothies have unsettling stories attached to them, but Ben Alder is perhaps the most infamous of them all.
Situated in the Central Highlands, in the very heart of Scotland, Ben Alder Cottage is known as one of the most remote and haunted Bothys in Scotland.
Ahead of Halloween 2023, I was challenged by outdoor brand Columbia to spend a night alone in the cottage.
Within this blog I outline my experience of the stay, along detailing all the information about Ben Alder cottage, including where it is located, its haunted past, and how you can reach it.
Where is Ben Alder Cottage located?
Located in the central highlands, Ben Alder cottage is located on the shores of Loch Ericht.
The building is concealed beneath the mighty mountain of Ben Alder, Scotland’s 25th highest munro, and is 8.5 miles from the nearest road
The What Three Words location of the bothy is corkscrew.handbag.dressing
The haunted history of Ben Alder Cottage
Last inhabited in 1918, the cottage’s is history is tainted with stories Poltergeists and ghosts.
One old legend suggests it’s haunted by its original resident, a ghillie called McCook, who tragically hanged himself off the back of the front door.
In another gruesome story, it is said that a woman and her infant once sought refuge in the cottage for several days during a storm. Driven mad with hunger she killed and ate her child and was then seen passing through the moorland “wild-eyed with despair that no one dared cross her path” to eventually become “lost in the morasses of the place”.
Both of these tales have been debunked.
The tale about the storm-crazed woman was made up by the residents who lived in the cottage during the 1930s as a way to scare off unwelcome travellers. The tale of the ghillie was quashed when one of McCook’s descendants, on discovering the story, stated that he had died peacefully in his bed aged 85.
The bothy continues to create stories of unexplained activities. Hikers have recounted stories of unexplained footsteps and groans, old-fashioned music playing in one of the unoccupied rooms, and witnessing a packet of biscuits being flung from the mantelpiece across the room.
How to reach Ben Alder Cottage?
The cottage can be reached from several directions, with the shortest two routes being from the south.
From the west: Corrur Station: 20km with 332m of elevation gain - Route map
From the north: Dalwhinnie: 22.5km with 401m of elevation gain - Route map
From the south: Bridge of Ericht: 14km with 292m of elevation gain - Route map
From the south: Rannoch Lodge: 13.8km with 361m of Elevation gain - Route map
For this outing I decided to take the shortest and easiest route into the cottage, which is from the south.
I opted from the route which starts by Rannoch Lodge as the first 11.5km of the route is gravel bridleway/fire track road which I was able to cycle.
Where to park for Ben Alder Cottage?
Free parking is available in a small gravel area just off the B846 on the western end of Loch Rannoch.
There is only space for 2 or 3 cars, so please park responsibly and do not block the fire track road or the route into the lodge.
The What Three Words location of the bothy is nets.quite.equipment. I left my van here overnight with no issues.
Looking down Loch Rannoch
The journey into the Bothy
From the roadside, head up the fire track road and pass through the metal gate, this will be the first of two metal gates (the second gate is after 2km).
From here simply follow the gravel bridleway for around 12km as the route dips in and out of patches of forest.
The highest point of the route is at 5.5km. There are flat and downhill sections on the way to this point but for the most part the path gradually rises until then.
Providing you have good weather, you will also have your first sighting of the mountain of Ben Alder alongside expansive views over the central highlands.
Looking towards Ben Alder from the highest point of the route
Looking back south from the highest point of the route
From the highest point of the route the path steadily descends down to the shore of Loch Ericht, again you wil pass in and out of forests and cross over several cattle grids.
After 9km you will reach a black shed on the southern shore of Loch Ericht. From here the gravel path bears left and skirts around the western shore of the loch.
The southern shore of Loch Ericht
After 11.3km you will reach a beautiful sandy beach, which if I wasn’t staying at the bothy, would have been a beautiful spot to camp.
Around 100m past this beach is where the bridleway/ fire track ends and the path descends into a bog.
I locked my bike up against the metal fence and made the rest of the journey by foot.
The beach just before the track ends
Looking back on the initial section of the walk
The next 1.3km follows a pretty obvious path which runs parallel to the metal fence. occasionally skirting around the odd inlet.
The path was muddy and waterlogged but not overly boggy, meaning I didn’t sink past my ankles and my feet stayed dry.
12.6km into the route the metal fence will end, this is were the trail becomes more difficult to spot and extremely boggy.
The final section of the walk
The route branches diagonally left, following a set of wooden poles towards the top of the small forest. Once you have passed up and around the top of the forest, you then have to drop back down towards the loch.
The path disappears at this point and littered with large patches of standing water, so its all about finding the least boggy path.
After around 50m the bothy should come into view, from here weave your way down to the metal footbridge which crosses over Alder burn.
Once the other side of the burn, the last obstacle is crossing the gentle stream which is directly in front of the bothy
Inside of the Bothy
For those who aren’t aware of what a bothy is, it’s effectively an abandoned building in the wilderness, devoid of all basic amenities, which provides free but basic shelter for those who are exploring wild and lonely places.
They are maintained by the Mountain Bothy Association and come in all shapes in sizes, with some which are far cosier and comfortable than others.
Ben Alder Cottage is made up of two parts.
The old stone section of the bothy is always open and accessible for anyone to use. The timber built extension is for estate use only.
The inside of Ben Alder bothy is extremely basic, very dark, and quite sinister looking.
It is made up of three rooms and a small porch area. The middle room is the smallest and houses a wooden bunkbed and small window which provides very light.
The left hand room has a window, a metal wood burning stove, and one sleeping platform.
The right hand room was the creepiest of the three, it has a stone fireplace, a window, and a wooden bench which wouldn’t be suitable for sleeping on unless you are an anorexic dwarf.
The bothy had a few furnishings, alongside wealth of random items which had been left there over the years. This included a blunt axe, a copious amount of sleeping mats, and two pairs of knock-off crocs.
Not wanting to be murdered in my sleep, I opted for the left hand room which looked the ‘cosiest’ and warmest of the three.
After being creeped out by the interior décor, which included a sheep’s skull and plenty of cobwebs, I ditched my bag and decided to make the hike up to the summit of Ben Alder.
The Journey up to Ben Alder
Standing at 1,148 metres, Ben Alder is the highest of of the six munros which are located in the Ben Alder forest area and the larger of the two munros which are located above the bothy.
Reaching the peak is relatively straight forward. From the bothy it’s is 5km one way with 813m of elevation gain.
Simply follow the river behind the cottage for 2.5km up to Bealach breabag. The path is pretty obvious for the first 2km and runs alongside the right hand side of the river. On the way up you might even spot some wild deer.
For the final 500m, the path moves away from the river, disappears, and is quite boggy. At this point I just B-lined it for the highest point
From the 835m saddle you have to bear left and zig zag your way up the steep slope. This is pretty punchy, especially the initial section, climbing 266m in less than a 1km.
There’s no clear and obvious route and it’s a case of picking the most appropriate path up.
Sron Bealach Beithe
Once the climbing is done you’ll reach the summit of Sron Bealach Beithe, which at 1,104m is 92nd tallest peak in Scotland.
The peak is on the edge of a stunning glacial cut ridge and marked by a small cairn.
From here you’ll be granted terrific panoramic views back south towards Glencoe and Ben Lawers, west towards the Mammores, and north east towards the Cairngorms.
From Sron Bealach Beithe, the path to the summit is relatively straight forward.
Just follow the ridge for 1.3km as it curves its way around and up to the summit. The ground is quite rocky so take care, especially if there is snow.
The Summit of Ben Alder
Standing at 1,148 metres, Ben Alder is 25th highest Munro and the 33rd highest peak in the UK.
Its summit is a wide and relatively flat plateau which is marked by a large cairn and smaller trig point.
Its name translates to 'Hill of the rocky place' and it offers stupendous 360 degree panoramic views over the western and southern highlands alongside the cairngorms.
Just below the summit is also one of Britain's highest bodies of standing water, Lochan a' Garbh Coire.
The journey back down
As it was extremely windy and there was only an hour till sunset, I got the drone up before making as hastily return back along the ridge to Sron Bealach Beithe.
From here i took a more direct route back to the bothy.
Instead of dropping back down to the saddle, I just headed down one of the rocky sloping spurs which headed down towards Loch Ericht. This was stepper in sections but ended up being less boggy and far quicker.
A night in Ben Alder Cottage
I got back to the bothy about half an hour after sunset, as it was still twilight I had a quick wash in the Loch, which was Baltic.
Unfortunately I still had the bothy to myself, which by this point was extremely dark and very cold.
After lighting some candles, I got the fire going before cooking myself some steak ramen, which is extremely boujee for a bothy.
It was only after I had eaten food, warmed back up, and settled down for the night that what where I was staying started to dawn on me.
I had no signal, I was 14km from the nearest road and I had only seen 4 people (all up on the saddle) all day.
The stories about the bothys past I had read were already lingering in my mind, only serving to amplify every random and strange noise I could hear.
To make matters worse it was rutting season and the stags were constantly bellowing away, their roars echoing around the vast emptiness of the loch.
I decided to give the MBA bothy book a read, which only served to increase my anxiety levels.
Although 95% of the entries were very positive and complimentary of the bothy, like a bad Trip Adviser review my brain honed in on the handful of entries which mentioned ghosts and strange noises.
By this point I had run out of firewood and the bothys temperature once again began to drop.
As it was clear, I popped outside to capture the bothy beneath a blanket of stars, in the process i clocked a stag around 30m from the bothy,
After barricading the door with a chair and a table, I stuck my earplugs in, got tucked up in my winter sleeping bag and hoped I wasn’t visited by the ghost of Christmas past.
The morning after
I was awoken by my alarm at 6:45am shortly before sunrise, by this point I could already see the orange glow of the sky through the bothys window.
I actually slept quite well for a bothy, mostly because I had used the surplus of camping mats left at the bothy to help pad out my own sleeping system.
That being said my ear plugs didn’t manage to keep out all of the strange noises, I heard plenty of scratching and bellowing of the stags.
Fortunately there were no mysterious shenanigans going on inside of the bothy and neither myself or my makeshift barricade was disturbed.
The temperature had dropped significantly overnight which had left a white layer frost on the ground outside.
I stuck some layers on, un-barricaded the door before heading outside to catch some sunrise shots.
Despite its sinister interior the bothys idyllic and secluded location made it extremely beautiful.
The air was crisp and clear and the sound of nature filled the air. I truly was alone in the middle of the Scottish wilderness and having survived the night, it felt extremely liberating.
I filmed some more Halloween themed content in the bothy (I had packed 6 fancy dress outfits), before having some breakfast outside in the sunshine.
After adding an entry into the bothy book, packing up my rubbish, and giving the bothy a quick once over, I began the 14km journey back to civilisation.
Final thoughts
The haunted tales and sinister stories of its past combined with its remote location do give this bothy an extra creepy feel.
However having comfortably and safely spent a night here, it’s a bothy which i’d definitely recommend staying in.
Like any old worn down building in the middle of the wilderness, you are always going to hear strange and spooky noises. Every creek, scratch, and howl of wind is amplified by the eerie silence, and that is even worse if you are spending the night there by yourself.
The bothy book was extremely positive and there were quite a few stories which mentioned mice, which would go a long way to explain what the scratching was.
Although a little tired and sinister inside (It was actually pretty nice for a bothy), once you got the fire going its a pretty cosy little spot.
It’s the bothys location which makes it so special.
Positioned under the shadow of Ben Alder on the shores of the loch, it really is a majestical place which allows you to fully understand an appreciate the true wilderness of Scotland.
If you do visit and the weather is favourable, make sure you take the time to head up to the summit of Ben Alder.
The views are phenomenal and it will give you an even better perspective of how vast Scotland is and how far you are from civilisation.
Finally, a big thank you to Columbia for sending me here and making this trip possible.
The Bothy wasn’t on my radar and I definitely would not have stayed here alone without them wanting some Halloween themed content. I also got to see and experience a new part of Scotland, alongside ticking off another munro.
I was really impressed by the Arch Rock Insulated Jacket which they provided me with.
It was very lightweight and due to its Omni-Heat thermal reflective lining extremely warm, which helped considerably up on the summit of Ben alder and in the bothy when the fire went out.
So there we have it, my post on Ben Alder Cottage and the Ben Alder.
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