Bothying in Wales

So a few weekends ago I decided to go bothying for the first time. I have been curious about staying in bothys for a while and, as I am quite short of money, decided that if would be a nice cheap weekend. 

We hiked to Dulyn bothy which is in the Carneddau - an area of North Wales I am yet to visit! You have to hike to the bothy but there is a car park about 3 miles away where you can drive to and numerous lovely walks in the area.

We checked out the MBA website when planning our visit to make sure we understood the bothy code and how to use it!

I love the idea of a bothy, I feel that it is very British and 'cute' and I was really excited for the stay. Dulyn bothy is also fairly large and well equipped which is why we chose it, with two rooms and a sleeping platform. 

We arrived mid afternoon and got settled but it was a little disappointing to see that whoever had been before had not taken all their rubbish with them. When we first arrived and settled in to the bothy and started making food I really enjoyed it. The area is stunning and the bothy was a big step up from camping. 

The biggest fly in the ointment was that, throughout the evening people kept turning up which was a little uncomfortable and made it difficult to relax; by midnight the bedroom and main room was full and there were two tents pitched outside -busy!

I found it difficult to sleep but I did enjoy parts of my stay. I would visit the bothy again and others however I would rather go midweek and not on a weekend when it would hopefully be quieter. I would also say that, as a woman, I personally would not visit one alone.

I dont often feel unsafe hiking or camping in the UK and I do feel like this is a fairly safe country. In places like this as well, I do feel that you are relatively safe as it is quite remote and not near a city where you are going to get dangerous people using it for drugs etc. 

Although all the people who arrived seemed nice enough, I feel like women understand that sense of being hyperawear and low level anxiety in these types of situations. Having groups of men arrive and walk in to where you are staying in the night put me on edge. Many of them were also drinking and smoking weed and it made me feel uneasy. There were also a couple of things that added to this but I just wanted to mention it in case anyone was considering a stay. 

I didnt go on my own but I still felt too anxious to sleep and I would recommend going with other people. It was a lovely experience and I would potentially go again here or somewhere else but I do think it is something to note. The area is stunning and I would love to do more walking here and maybe camping.