Scottish Peatlands & Heather: A Heritage Journey
Seeing firelight and smelling turf smoke from the valley below your pace picks up, knowing other teams have already arrived at the bothy and soon the table will be filled with innumerable bottles of whisky, whiskey (I’ve been reliably informed that the spelling makes a huge amount of difference – one signifies Scottish origin, the other Irish), grappa, eau de vie, myrto, gin, wine, beer and enough food for a Himalayan expedition.
I had the good fortune, years ago, of spending Hogmanay in a northern highlands bothy after a long day in the hills and can vividly recall the smell of 30 sets of gore-tex, and fleece slowly drying near a roaring turf fire, tin whistles, banjos, fiddles and bottles being pulled from rucksacks and bothy packed to bursting with happy climbers.
Anyone who jokingly refers to the Scots as having deep pockets and short arms has never spent a freezing winters night in one of these amazing wilderness refuges. The recipes below hopefully reflect some of the signature flavours of the highlands (excepting the chilli and orange).
Ingredients
