In this episode Rob talks to Juls Stodel, a trustee for the Mountain Bothies Association.

It's a rich conversation. Here's what we cover.

• How finishing the Wales Coast Path led to giving up her flat and starting a 15-month journey through Britain’s bothies 

• Why she avoided a “pure foot” approach and mixed walking with hitchhiking and buses to prioritise experience over mileage 

• The postcard system she invented — and the unexpected friendship it sparked with a stranger from Skye 

• A chaotic three-day slog to Greg’s Hut involving a £9 children’s sled, deep snow, fog and type-two fun at its finest 

• What a typical bothy night actually feels like, from quiet evenings to 2am arrivals 

• The emotional comfort of seeing a gable end after a brutal day in the weather 

• How bothies preserve the history of ordinary people — crofters, workers, families — and why that matters 

• The role of the Mountain Bothies Association and the unseen work involved in keeping the doors open for everyone 

• The Bothy Code, and why litter is currently the biggest threat to the system 

• Small kindnesses and unforgettable encounters: stew-carrying ex-army lads, shared candles, and strangers becoming lifelong friends 

• The thin line between adventure and exhaustion — and how to tell whether you're being brave or being stupid 

• Living out of a backpack for years, and how it changes your sense of what “stuff” really matters 

• Schizophrenia, survival, and the deeper emotional journey behind choosing a life of simplicity and meaning outdoors 

• Advice for your first bothy: where to go, what to bring, and how to ease into it with confidence 

• Juls’ favourite bothy of all — the magical Guìrdil on the Isle of Rùm 

  
  

  Find out more at https://www.mountainbothies.org.uk