So I'm well out of bothying now, and entirely coincidentally that coincided with the publication of 'that' book and any number of facile mainstream media headlines about free holiday homes in the Highlands etc. etc. so I don't even know how well kept a secret the location of the howff is now BUT (pauses for breath) some numpty has put a picture up on Strava.
I reported the pic to Strava and when they sent me back a slightly puzzled reply I explained the sort of tradition behind it all. They declined to remove it though.
I'm not losing any sleep over it but if anyone else cares it's not too hard to find the picture and takes no time to report it. Am curious if Strava bows to internet obsessive pressure or not.
You could message the user directly and ask them to delete then re-upload the ride, if the pic is attached to that.
I have no idea what your talking about, but I presume it's about some little known thing that those in the know want to keep quiet, I'm therefore fighting the urge to Google it. Whatever someone has posted on Strava I'm not convinced posting something 'secretive' on here is any better.
Well searching for "the howff bothy" brings up a walking route on AllTrails as the fourth result. It doesn't seem very secret.
Strava Heat Map is a thing...
Since a Google search for "the secret howff" returns pages of results going back several years, including a BBC podcast, it doesn't seem to be as secret as the OP thinks it is.
Does anyone have the CEO of YouTubes email?
I understand how you feel… but wonder if resistance is futile. Loads of stuff; places, paths, routes, camp spots, coves, hills, etc. gets posted by someone who, to me, looks like they are showing off and should know better. But that’s the way it is now. There is still a frontier of un publicised stuff to explore and even if you live somewhere that is ummm over-visited, there are still quiet corners even if they are harder to find.
I am of course a total hypocrite as I research stuff online too and who am I to judge anyone’s motivation for going somewhere…
Ha! Fair play, I did mention that I was a bit out of the loop so didn't know how secret (or not) it still was.
It wasn't uploaded as someone's ride, it was added as a photo on the heatmap so there is no way to contact the user (I don't actually know what the mechanism is to have photos added to the heatmap..).
Is that secret cave place in borrowdale still a secret?
I think Strava use any photos posted on a cycle or run or walk against the heat map if it’s of a location but not with any person in the picture or bike so basically a scenery picture. I don’t know if you can opt out of this but it’s probably done automatically.
Nah it's secret init, you have to crawl through a tunnel to get in!!
You will probably be unimpressed to learn that I have found it as consequence of this thread. The law of unintended consequences strikes again.
I read about it in an Easy Jet in flight magazine.
it also has a Trip Advisor page and its own Instagram.
its own Instagram
It's easily as popular as Joe Cocker's Instagram.
It can’t be that secret, it has a well used visitor book. And is all over the internet
Probably not that secret. Anywhere a few people visit is on Strava heat map.
Standards have obviously slipped, this thread was SUPPOSED to be an outpouring of righteous indignation. Bothy culture has clearly changed 😂
Bothy Don't bother if Friday, Saturday ,Public holiday , school holidays or DofE sason . Not too hard getting a bothy all to yourself or with a few outdoor people. Also an no any bothy close to a road or the drinking dens of Ayrshire or Galloway.
Had a friend who was most upset when the bothy book appeared.
Which Borrowdale? <taps nose>
Actually it may be Langstrath
I ve had many a good night in the bothies and the drinking dens of Ayrshire and Galloway
I go to bothys mid-week and more often than not get them to myself/ourselves. Of course go somewhere local to Glasgow like Mark Cottage and all bets are off. Last time there I found 14 DOE kids camped outside and the intructors in the bothy. Just after Covid I went up there to find 7 or 8 guys from Castlemilk with their 4x4 parked beside the bothy. A huge carry out and a boombox. Friendly enough but as a couple of them were already drunk at 4pm and it's a small bothy I cut my losses and walked back out.
On the other hand the non MBA bothy I was at this week, less than 3 hours from Glasgow only had 9 entries in the bothy book this year. Even allowing that many people won't do an entry in the book a quiet bothy. Probably a lot quieter than the secret howfff.
