newsFebruary 23, 2017 at 4:52 pm

For the first time since it opened to visitors over 40 years ago, the popular bothy at Rackwick in Hoy is now locked, following an act of mindless vandalism which took place last week.

John Budge, chairman of the Hoy Trust, which owns the bothy, popular with visitors to the iconic Rackwick area, said that the warden, Jimmy Sinclair, who looks after the bothy, contacted him to say that sometime between last Wednesday and this Monday, the sink in the toilet area was smashed, the door of the toilet area kicked or pulled off, and part of the door of the stove inside the bothy was taken off and broken.

Mr Budge said that repairs will now have to be carried out at the bothy, adding: “The Hoy Trust has made this bothy available to anyone since the early 1970’s without much harm done.

“There will be no alternative to locking the door, and only letting supervised visitors use its facilities. We are keeping it this way into March and we will see what happens then.”

He said that he was both “angry and disappointed” that something like this would happen to the bothy, which is used by so many people from around the world throughout the year.

In the past the bothy has always been left open, and visitors to popular scenic area are free to use the facilities, a welcome shelter in bad weather, or a place to stay overnight in front of the warming fire.

Mr Budge added: “The bothy is very popular with visitors, including families, walkers and climbers, who use it all year round. It even featured a televised George Mackay Brown production many years ago.”