This is the bothy before I went to work on it. Or, in truth, the unfailingly enthusiastic Dave Simpson, a builder and developer of Dervaig, a village across the island, went to work on it. He made his home on Mull some years ago now, having come up as a young man to dive and his love of the island shows in his determination to make an authentic job of restoring the bothy.
Also 'before', in case you needed telling, is the bothy inside, with its fireplace where meals would be made. The walls are over a couple of feet thick and dry, even after all these years of lack of use. The idea is to restore it, to make it suitable for 21st century living but without losing its original 'ethos' (yes, ghastly word but a worthy goal...) It will have a tiny kitchen, a tiny shower room, and a built-in bed just as would have been present in bothies in the 18th century.
Yes, the roof was rotten. Who knew. The wonderful roof 'artist' (yes, what he does is artistry) Ricky took each of the original toast-thick slates off and dressed each one by hand outside in driving rain. He stacked them in two piles - the thicker ones to face the sea and incoming gales, the thinner ones for the back where the weather is more forgiving.
The bothy 'after' - or almost. There's plenty of work still to do...And then the garden needs to be created. The rubble from the interior has created the extended terrace outside, so it isn't suitable for planting. So there'll have to be raised beds around a flagstone area that will take a table and a barbecue and wood pile, as well as a small fish fountain a friend made me.
On the right is what will be framed in to become a built-in bed, with storage below. To the left will be the small shower room. Where the cardboard box sits will be the kitchen area. Tiny but perfect!
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