Hutchison Memorial Hut

LOCATION LAT/LONG 57.0783, -3.6133, NO 023998, LR Map 36/43
High on the northern flank of Derry Cairngorm, next to the path to Ben Macdui that runs beneath the steep slabs of Creag a’ choire Etchachan, lies the small, understated ‘Hutchie’ hut. One of the very few purpose-built shelters in the Highlands, the bothy was constructed in 1954 in memory of geologist Dr Arthur Gilbertson Hutchison, a keen outdoor enthusiast from Aberdeen. It was once renowned as a very uninviting place, described as having ‘dubious comforts’, with steel poles forming an open porch which used to whistle disturbingly in high winds, the accompanying percussion provided by the persistently rattlingfront door. Thankfully those days are now past, a major renovation having been undertaken by in 2012, turning an uninspiring doss into luxury accommodation, which has so grown in popularity that if you are planning on staying overnight it is wise to take a tent.