The White Laggan Bothy. Galloway Forest. Solo overnighter. 

9 days to go!!! Woohoo, it's sharp creeping up! 😁 A lovely bothy this one and I said I'd never bothy again solo, but the 2 people who turned up later on were lovely to chat to. The place had been left an absolute disgrace though, no wonder the wee mousie was happy living in there with all the food waste just left on the table. Good deed of the day was defo catching the mouse and setting it loose near the river. TFW Jeanette 😊

Morning Neil 🙂 I work in catering so yip - guilty as charged with the tidiness OCD, I hate seeing places like these left in a mess, food waste just sat open and rotting on the table - what type of person would do that? Puzzling and annoying. Grrr. Takes no time to tidy a place up 👍 I've never had tripe - my granda used to eat it raw with vinegar on (yak!) - and I've no plans to try it lol. Its weird the stuff folk leave in bothies as well, expecting other folk to eat it. There's no emergency that I could ever forsee that would have me eating cans of tripe soup or Polish luncheon meat - unless I was on the run from the law or it was after a nuclear holocaust and Heinz soups were hard to come by..... Cheers Neil, hope you have a good week :) X

The White Laggan must have been a welcoming sight for you Graham! It's a lovely bothy and next time I head back I'll be on a bike, loved the look of the forest tracks for cycling.....I'm not fit enough to peddle to Newton Stewart though lol. TFW :)

Yoohoo Azda's - I didn't do much filming on me jollies but I quite liked the footage I took on this wee outing, those views back down the valley from the bothy were stunners! And when that sunset hit in with all those colours of wor Emz hair, that was icing on an already glorious cake. Nice to leave the bothy looking fairly chipper - and yip, that'd be the life for me - with a couple of smaller peeps coming round most days when they'd finished work down the mine, some bluebirds shat on my shoulders and all the chores done by 11am so I could have the rest of the day off to make wood carvings to sell at the local market alongside my magic bean stall. One day Emz.....one day..... XxX

@@donnavansenior oh how I've missed your repertoire young DVS xx

@@emz_adventure I try my bestest Emz ;) xxx

Hi Simon, great to hear from you, hope life is treating you well 😊 Yeah I've friends who use this bothy several times a year so I knew the location and layout - but I didn't realise how magnificent the view was looking back down into the valley! What a stunner! Aye it's always hitty missy with regards to company but Diane and Scott were a lovely couple (SUW hikers, they'd put in 25 miles that day!) and we had a nice few hours chatting. Poor wee mousie, I hope I didn't hurt it or owt cos it was a bit of a cutie 😉 only to be expected with folk leaving food waste lying around. Cheers Simon, catch you up a hill one day X

Hi John, yeah I had a week over D&G when this vid was filmed, it's a great area and I'm looking forward to heading back there with a bike next time, get to see more of the forest etc. Nice bothy as well and what a location for it! TFW :)

I saw the ruins of Black Laggan at the bottom of the glen and wondered what it must have looked like back in the day.....great to hear from someone that actually worked on the original White Laggan MBA party and great to hear that you guys re-purposed materials from Black Laggan. It was my first time around that area but I'll be back. Thanks for taking the time to watch Dickus - that's one helluva RU-vid name you've got 😅

@@donnavansenior it was a nickname acquired from my public school educated section leader in the drawing office. He originally had Rusticanus added to it, but I thought that too unwieldy.

@@DickusCopernicus 🤣🤣 agreed, a rustic anus is definitely too unwieldly 😅

Hi Andy - aye that's a soup you'll remember for the rest of your days - Cream of Tripe! Yowsa!! It neither sounds nor looks tasty, surely it must have been a bet that made you try it? haha. TFW :) atb Donna :)

@@donnavansenior Once tried , definitely not forgotten. I was by myself and very hungry but not hungry enough to finish it . The mouldy bread tasted better .

Cheers Jimmy - yeah I decided to try and re-brand myself - loved The Lady in the Orange Van name but it's not who I am anymore, haven't had that van for nearly 3 years now.....so Northern Wild Camper it is X

Absolutely, that's the way to do it - why anyone would leave their crap in amazing places like these is beyond words. Sharp sorted that out though and left the place in good shape for the next occupants. And I feel it's only right to film the way the bothy was left, it's not acceptable. Thanks Planemaker, glad you enjoyed the vid X

Yeah I'd heard there used to be a loft to sleep in Dave, it's all closed off now for health and safety reasons apparently. That's a great memory though - being there with your dad all those years ago (I bet it doesn't feel like 25yrs) and sleeping in front of the fire. No starry skies for me, but again I've heard it can be a diamond carpet above your head on a clear dark night. Lovely comment, thank you X

It's a great bothy if you get the main room to yourself - the room as you enter seemed a bit creepy. Ace views down to Loch Dee and nice to be able to sit out if there's a wee breeze keeping the midges away lol. A shame someone had left it as messy with food lying out. TFW :)

Had 12 days hols so the final tally was 5 Lingo nights, 4 camps and 2 bothies, blinking weather was bonkers Dave! Met up with Annie for the last 4 days/3 nights....couple more vids to come but I didn't do that much filming, it was just great to be outdoors and relaxed with no work worries etc. Yeah the wee mousie had to be relocated - didn't see many mouse poops in the bothy though but the assholes that left food lying out want shot with sh*t. Literally just left their open food sat on the table in the main room, tortilla wraps, Bramley apple pie box, green pesto - of course that's gonna attract vermin, makes absolutely no sense why someone would do that. Ace bothy though and what a location! Cheers Dave :)

Poor mouse? Poor Donna nearly standing on the blinking thing 🤣🤣 if I hadn't seen it's wee head poke out it could have been well squashed.....but fancy leaving tortilla wraps, pesto and a Bramley Apple pie box just lying out like that. Some folk have no sense. Enjoyed the bothy Jimmy - a stunner of a view back down the valley! Good to catch a bit of you and Roneys live stream t'other night, looks like you had a canny session lol. TFW :)

@@donnavansenior we definitely did 🤣🤣 thanks for joining us but it did go on a bit too long the midges and flys were a nightmare this weekend so I'm a bit itchy and bit to bit's

Get some mosquito coils - Coleman do a good one - you burn them like a weird coiled joss stick and the midges hate them, worth a punt Jimmy but they work for me - if I burn one near the door of my van they won't come in, I've burnt them in the door of my tent as well to keep them out and they work for sitting out as well. I also use Smidge, I spray it in my hand and rub it in my skin - I used to get bitten loads but they seem to leave me alone now for the most part ;)

Morning Ruth 🙂 I've just had 12 days over Dumfries and Galloway, had a great time even though the weather was a tad pants most of the time - didn't do much filming but I quite liked the bits of vid I had from the first bothy night. Aye the wee mousie had a close call hiding in that carpet runner, nearly stepped on it! TFW and I hope you have a grand week X

Morning Mick 🙂 yeah the mousie looked a tad dazed, it was a cute little thing but I didn't want it nibbling my gear/sleeping bag overnight so out it went - I picked it up with that orange towel and placed it gently down by the burn on a nice fat rock. Never realised what the label said on the soup tin til I got home and watched the footage back - Tripe Soup! Woah!! I'll stick with a nice Heinz Lentil thanks ;) Yeah it's a great bothy, nice 2hr hike in at a leisurely pace and a stunner of an area! TFW Mick X

@@donnavansenior ahh that’s sweet of you Did yer blow it a kiss as you abandoned it on a rock? No way of getting off unless he jumped to his death ☠️ Mxx

I know - I wasn't going to announce it with a big fanfare or owt, just a quiet name change. Haven't had the van for nearly 3 years and it doesn't represent who I am now - whereas Northern Wild Camper sums my channel up pretty well ;) Aye 2 fellow Geordies lol, wouldn't have believed it, nice couple :)

Thanks Clare 😊 not my most exciting or funniest of vids but it's nice to show a bit of bothy culture to those that mightn't have tried it yet. I've stayed in a few now but this was only my 3rd time turning up solo....always a bit daunting because you never know who'll be already there or who'll turn up, but I did alright with Diane and Scott, they were a lovely couple Xxx

Evening Siimz - saw your hello on Lundy's live stream last night but wasn't sure of the protocol for having an online chat with you over Jimmy's vid lol. I'd seen White Laggan on many vids/photo's before but the views were unreal back down towards Loch Dee, an absolute stunner of a location for a bothy - shame some folk left it that way, food lying out and a general mess, dirty sods. Great to spend the evening with that couple doing the SUW - they'd hiked 25 miles that day to reach the bothy! Crikey that's some going!! Another good wee adventure, mousies, mess and all the rest lol. Cheers Siimz :)

Hi June - another fine roving report and this time from the Galloway Forest Park - the BBC's loss is RU-vids gain 🤣🤣 Struck lucky with a beaut of a sunset on this one and even though I wasn't feeling very social earlier on it was nice to have a bit company turn up at the bothy later on. Another good wee adventure. Enjoy your week June XxX

Morning Scots Nomad - thanks for taking the time to pop a comment on. Yeah ,why folk treat these marvellous places with disrespect and disregard is beyond me. I take pride in leaving a bothy in as nice a condition as I can for the next visitors. Stunner of a location for a bothy as well! And the view from inside sat in the kitchen looking back down that valley (away from the ferocious midge) was fantastic. TFW and enjoy your week :)

@@donnavansenior thank you ❤️

Morning Deb 🙂 The bothies over here range from very basic to absolutely stunning. Some even have a proper toilet and water on tap! This one had the luxury of a burn (stream) nearby for water and being situated in a forest there'd be no short supply of dead wood to burn in the stove. Stunning view back down the valley as well! I picked this area to save on fuel costs, it's a 2.5hr drive from where I live. I knew there'd be plenty to do without having to drive around a lot. The weather gave me cabin fever though so after 4 days in this area I moved further west away from the heavy cloud cover, rain and midge, I had to get coastal for the better weather. Worked my way back slowly back eastwards after hitting the Mull of Galloway and met up with Llama Annie for the final few days. Had a great time away. TFW Deb, have a chipper week Xx

Lol - I know what you mean Phil, I had 12 days away and only 2 of them were nice and sunny. Other days I had thick clag, biblical rain, strong winds, attacks of the midges, it's been a right old mixed bag of weather. Not a bad day on this one after the previous 24hrs being non-stop rain. Shame I couldn't get pitched Lochside but ended up having a good bothy overnighter. Stunning location for it! Cheers Phil, always good to hear from you X

No, nothing at all apart from the wee mousie. It was a nice feeling bothy - just a shame the last people there had left it a mess with the food being left out etc.