The era of restoration may have ended for the bothies of the Cairngorms, but the next era is bound to be equally valuable, as new generations fall in love with these wild places. Not long from now another young man or woman will blunder through a bothy door and find themselves sitting beside the fire contemplating the wonders of a newly discovered world. Long may it continue. For Harrison Ward, otherwise known as Fell Foodie, the mountains are his solace, his gym and his kitchen. Classic pairings of ginger and strawberries reinforce rhubarb's reputation as a sweet. Even roasted rhubarb is eaten alongside ice cream. Both home cooks and Michelin-starred chefs seem to agree that rhubarb's best partner is sugar — lots of it. Burns practices escapism in it’s simplest form – hill walking. Getting out on your own, armed with a map, a compass and a stout pair of boots. (And often, as required in Scotland, a small bag of coal, a large bottle of whisky, some food and a sleeping bag.) The book is filled with articles or essays and jumps around a little, but that doesn’t affect the cohesiveness. All the tales portray his sense of wonder at nature, and glee at his semi-retired state meaning he can go walking whenever he likes. Heartily jealous, John.

Ginger gin brings warmth to cool evenings. Coorie by the fire to best enjoy this infusion of sweetness and spice. From remote glens deep in the Scottish Highlands, Burns brings a new volume of tales some dramatic, some moving, some hilarious from the isolated mountain shelters called bothies. Meet the vivid cast of characters who play their games there, from climbers with more confidence than sense to a young man who doesn t have the slightest idea what he s letting himself in for... Bothy Larder opened for business on October 19th and will be open Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm and will help the Bothy brand grow and expand. Tired and cold, I stepped through the door and entered another world. Kettles steamed on purring paraffin stoves, figures huddled in dark corners and the air was filled with the sound of chatter and laughter. I was immediately welcomed into the company with a mug of tea: these people didn't care who I was. Like them, I was a traveller in wild places, and they made room for me willingly. In this isolated, tiny shelter, sitting in the heart of a vast white landscape, I was among friends. That was my first introduction to the world of bothies, and the magic of it has never left me. Wait a couple of months before taste testing. If your sloe gin is a rich, berry red then it’s ready!years on we're delighted to bring our 'Jam Bothy' range to retail. We make our jams and marmalades by hand from traditional jam recipes in our bothy kitchen at Kirriemuir. Our range includes whisky, gin, and rum marmalades and raspberry & gin, rhubarb & ginger and strawberry & champagne jam and our popular chilli jam. Now you might ask, is rhubarb a fruit or a vegetable? Technically rhubarb is a vegetable, with a crisp crunch akin to celery. Historically though, it's been used like a fruit. Children should avoid raw sloes altogether as they can’t digest even small amounts of cyanide the way an adult can. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea are all unpleasant side effects of eating raw sloes. Plus, they taste downright bitter! We recommend you don’t eat raw sloes at all and instead enjoy them as a delicious drink. What else can you make with sloes?

A heavy-bottomed large pot or saucepan: Time to dust off Granny's jeelie pan! Jam needs to bubble for a long time without the fruit burning, so a large saucepan with plenty room for evaporation is best. His second play, Mallory: Beyond Everest, is a re-telling of the life of the legendary Everest mountaineer. The play was first performed in the Edinburgh Fringe of 2014 and in John portrays a man torn between his love of his wife and his burning ambition to conquer the world’s highest mountain. The combination of John’s love of the outdoors with his passion for writing and performance makes him a uniquely powerful storyteller. In his writing, John tells tales of his travels in the mountains, in his performance he talks of the profound relationship between men and wild places. Kailyards, or kitchen-gardens, provided a lifeline to many impoverished Scots. In hard times, hardy greens like rhubarb and cabbage offered sustenance when meat was scarce. My show is full of stories and tales from the hills. Some come directly from my own experience, like when I talk about what it was like to be caught in a life and death situation in an avalanche. Other scenes in the show are more light-hearted, such as when I act out an encounter with a strange creature during a night in a lonely bothy.”I expected this book to be like a British version of Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods: funny, but slightly less overdone (less comical) probably, lighthearted, with some more serious nature writing in between. bottles of this 1st edition smoked gin have been produced, the only smoked gin made in a protected designation of origin area, using a Smokie ‘bothy’, Oh, what a shame you weren't here last week, she says, pity radiating from behind her horn-rimmed specs. You've missed him.

Kim Cameron, Gin Bothy Founder, said: From croft to coast, from hillside to pier-side, the roots of the bothy heritage extend far and strong. Its spirit echoes along our shores and deep into our fishing communities, and so making a gin that is very much a love story between Scotland’s produce and the iconic bothy smokehouses felt like a very natural next step. Kim Cameron added: “Bringing together the bothy elements along with the best of Scotland’s produce, preserves not just the product, but also the past and it chimes perfectly with our values. We want to safeguard and celebrate traditions that have been passed down the generations and sit at the heart of the unique identity that Scots have protected and carried abroad for so long.”Gary Morrison-Lundie of Alex Spink and Sons said: “Smoking fish in the traditional method in a bothy smokehouse is one of the few traditional skillsets still being passed down the generations, using the same techniques and equipment as generations before us. Using that knowledge in new ways creates a connection with other parts of Scottish culture, keeping it alive and in our communities.” This is a really special occasion for me because Elgin's been a place that’s been home to me all my life. I’ve always spent my holidays with my aunts, uncles and cousins in Elgin, and we’re a close family. I love the warmth of the people and the landscape, it’s definitely a kind of homeland for me and a place of comfort.” Once opened, keep jam in the fridge and use it within a month. That shouldn't be hard when you can slather delicious jam made from local raspberries on scones, croissants, or even pair it with cheese!

The Mountain Bothies Association (MBA) charity has reopened its 105 mountain huts, shelters and howffs after more than a year of closure due to Covid. The overwhelming majority of these are in Scotland and they reopened in August for what the MBA described as “ responsible use”, pointing out that Covid has not gone away. The bothies are all sorts of shapes and sizes in varied locations – many are extremely remote and operated with the agreement of owners and estates and maintained by MBA volunteers since the late 60s and early 70s. Gin Bothy was founded in 2015 by ‘accidental gin-maker’ Kim Cameron from her bothy kitchen in Kirriemuir, in the Angus Glens. John has been touring his one-man show, Bothy Tales, based on his best-selling book of the same name, around festivals and small venues in the UK, raising funds for Scottish Mountain Rescue, to which he has been closely-involved.

I really enjoyed Bothy Tales. Burns has such a lovely style, easy flow and a rich talent for adjectives that the read was over before I knew it. I was completely drawn in. However, sloes deserve more credit for their versatility. Here are a few more ways to use up sloes if you find yourself with a glut: Sloe cordial