A’ Chuil

If you’re wondering why I haven’t posted for a week or so, it’s because I was out of communication in Glen Dessary. Specifically, I was staying at a remote mountain bothie named A’ Chuil.

‘A’ Chuil’ translates to ‘the back’ in English. It’s unclear to me whether this refers to its remote location — the back of beyond — or its position on the north side of Monadh Gorm ridge. Either way, reaching A’ Chuil is no easy feat. First, one must take the roller coaster-like single-track road along the 12-mile long Loch Arkaig. Then, a 3-mile walk along a forest track is necessary — no room in the 4wd for us — followed by a 100-metre descent through the forest, navigating fallen trees and boulders along the way.

I was part of a work party that installed a wood-burning stove in the bothie, in addition to carrying out other maintenance tasks such as painting and sweeping the chimneys. We had to carry down all of the necessary tools and materials, including a generator, nine bags of sand, three bags of cement, and scaffolding. However, we were equipped with a wooden stretcher for the heavier items, so a four-man team was able to carry the 200kg cast-iron stove and two 3×2 foot paving slabs.

After completing the work, the tools needed to be carried back up to the forest track ,along with the litter and debris that had been selfishly left behind by the occupants. Various broken equipment, such as a walking pole, fishing rod, empty gas canisters, and an abandoned tent, were left behind for someone else to carry out.

The bothie is a former shepherd’s cottage, probably built in the 19th century¹‘A’ Chuil | Canmore’. 2023. Canmore.org.uk <https://canmore.org.uk/site/374375/a-chuil> [accessed 30 April 2023]. In the late 18th century, ‘Coule‘ was one of the main townships in the glen. This glen was home to people who were referred to in a report by a factor to his superiors in Edinburgh in 1758 as “the most pestilent tribes in the Highlands” and recommended that they should be “intermixed with other Clans less thievishly disposed“²A posting found on the internet commenting on the fire at Glendessary Lodge in 2003 http://clancameron.proboards12.com/index.cgi?board=history&action=display&thread=52 (website appears to be no longer available). Also, the remoteness of Glendessary attracted deserters from the military, leading to the building of a military barracks at the head of Loch Arkaig. However, the majority of the residents were likely to be among the emigrants who boarded three ships bound for Canada in 1802.

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  ‘A’ Chuil | Canmore’. 2023. Canmore.org.uk <https://canmore.org.uk/site/374375/a-chuil> [accessed 30 April 2023]
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  A posting found on the internet commenting on the fire at Glendessary Lodge in 2003 http://clancameron.proboards12.com/index.cgi?board=history&action=display&thread=52 (website appears to be no longer available)