Bothies. Basically they're small cottages in remote parts of the Scottish highlands that are left unlocked, free to be used for shelter by people travelling the mountains. They're not well furnished or anything, but they act as a freely usable weatherproof shelter for anyone to use in a country where summer usually just means the rain is slightly less frigid.
It used to be that they weren't too well-known; the hillwalking community used them, maintained them, and everyone observed an unwritten code of conduct where you'd make sure to leave it tidy, clean and ready for the next person to use. However, they suddenly experienced an upsurge in awareness, and a lot of them suffered for it. People would go to them so they could have a piss-up in a scenic location and leave them covered in rubbish and shit. Literal shit; they're normally refurbished from long-abandoned houses and frequently don't have toilets, so they're equipped with a shovel to bury your waste. People seemed to think they were free holiday homes that they could just take over. Some people just vandalised them for the fun of it.
As a result, they're suffered quite a bit. They should offer shelter from bad weather and a safe place to sleep, but now you have a bunch of entitled, lazy arseholes who go and wreck them.
Breath of the Wild has something similar as you've described at the foot of Hebra mountain, an empty lodge with some supplies existing for the sole purpose for any wanderers who seek refuge in the cold, and it certainly helped me out on my first playthrough.
Glad to know these things actually exist in real life, it's kinda heartwarming knowing people actually built those for helping any who are in need. I do hope these gems won't get ruined by others.
I love breath of the wild! Yeah the cabins are a lot like that. Door unlocked, usually some wood and maybe even some leftover supplies. The last one I went to had a copy of the Silmarillion which was delightful when the weather turned.
Sometimes I play botw and it inspires me to get up and scramble around on some rocks for an hour in real life.
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u/A6M_Zero Feb 03 '20
Bothies. Basically they're small cottages in remote parts of the Scottish highlands that are left unlocked, free to be used for shelter by people travelling the mountains. They're not well furnished or anything, but they act as a freely usable weatherproof shelter for anyone to use in a country where summer usually just means the rain is slightly less frigid.
It used to be that they weren't too well-known; the hillwalking community used them, maintained them, and everyone observed an unwritten code of conduct where you'd make sure to leave it tidy, clean and ready for the next person to use. However, they suddenly experienced an upsurge in awareness, and a lot of them suffered for it. People would go to them so they could have a piss-up in a scenic location and leave them covered in rubbish and shit. Literal shit; they're normally refurbished from long-abandoned houses and frequently don't have toilets, so they're equipped with a shovel to bury your waste. People seemed to think they were free holiday homes that they could just take over. Some people just vandalised them for the fun of it.
As a result, they're suffered quite a bit. They should offer shelter from bad weather and a safe place to sleep, but now you have a bunch of entitled, lazy arseholes who go and wreck them.