Giant Stoneater wrote:It wasn't just the overcrowding, people were ignoring the private road signs and driving down the road and parking, which was causing problems for the estate.
I'm not one of these Geoff Allen obsessives but in the case of An Cladach he had put incorrect parking information in his book which led problems for residents and visitors telling them that the book mentions they could park there!
In general it's a combination of factors that will cause a landowner to close a bothy, and most of them come down to behaviour. Supposed increased use of bothies wouldn't be much of a problem if people parked considerately, carried coal in instead of trying to cut wood from trees, carried their litter out with them instead of leaving it for others and followed proper toilet procedure. Basically following the country code and leaving no trace. Sadly there are enough adults who can't behave like adults for it to become an issue.
To be honest I can't blame the estates for making this decision. A locked, bookable building will make them a bit of money and hopefully see a reduction in the antisocial behaviour that a "free" bothy sometimes attracts. I'm sure estates keep an eye on what each other are doing and will be interested to see how successful An Cladach and Peanmeannach will be in this new format, possibly leading to more closures if it's proven to bring in more money and fewer troublemakers.
At least the 2 bothies we've lost in the past year haven't been boarded up or demolished like some other "problem" bothies have in the past. And if the price is right I wouldn't mind paying for the peace of mind of not having a bunch of troublemakers turn up or having to clear up other people's rubbish when I get there.