Volunteers work on the new toilet facilities. Photo: Neil Reid/MBA

Volunteers work on the new toilet facilities. Photo: Neil Reid/MBA

Volunteers have completed work to increase the convenience of the facilities at a remote but busy bothy in the Highlands.

People of a delicate disposition may wish to relieve themselves of reading the details of the workings of the toilets at Corrour in the Lairig Ghru in the Cairngorms.

The Mountain Bothies Association, which cares for the shelter at the foot of The Devil’s Point, said the toilet, which it built 11 years ago, has prevented literally tons of human waste from polluting the area around the bothy.

An association spokesperson said: “However the volume of use has meant that maintaining and servicing the toilet has been very labour intensive and necessitated monthly visits from a dedicated but very small group of volunteers.

“In an effort to ease their workload, it was decided to completely redesign the interior of the toilet annexe at the bothy, increasing the capacity so that the time between maintenance visits could be extended.”

A group of volunteers worked over two weekends in September to completely recreate the interior of the toilet.

“The public area, entered via the stone steps at the gable, now has four seats,” the spokesperson said. “Only two seats will be available for use at any one time with waste being collected in sacks below, while the other two will be sealed up, allowing the collected waste to dry out slightly.

Only two of the toilet seats will be in use at any one time. Photo: Neil Reid/MBA

Only two of the toilet seats will be in use at any one time. Photo: Neil Reid/MBA

“This should mean that even during the busy summer season, maintenance visits should only be required once every two months. Of course, the work during those visits will be doubled, but the whole operation will be easier as most of the problem in maintenance visits is the travelling and walk-in time.

“During maintenance visits the volunteers will gain access at a new door at the rear of the annexe, remove the drained bags and carry them round to the storage area, access to which will be from the new door at the front of the annexe.

“There the bags of human waste will remain until annual removal to a waste disposal facility. For obvious public health reasons, both the front and rear doors to the annexe will remain locked.”

The Corrour Bothy is one of just over a hundred rudimentary shelters maintained by the charity. It lies on the high mountain pass running between Deeside and Strathspey.

With the consent and support of their owners, the Mountain Bothies Association undertakes the restoration and maintenance of a number of old cottages, huts and similar buildings throughout the wilder parts of Scotland, England and Wales for use as open shelters for walkers and other outdoor enthusiasts.

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