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“The current generation of huts might help creative folk focus on making new work but the bothy's original function was more egalitarian.
It wanted to offer shelter in remote Scottish locations for walkers and climbers, the idea being that if hikers made the sacrifice to explore extreme locations they should be rewarded by basic accommodation that was free of charge.
The concept was rolled out across the country and aroused a new kind of generosity among landowners.
More than a hundred of these shelters are provided by estate owners on the proviso they are left clean and undamaged.
"Bothying" came about as agricultural methods changed and farmsteads were increasingly abandoned.
During the 1940s the idea of leisure was shifting as it began to mean roaming in the hills and countryside.
Walkers looked for shelter on their meanderings and these small buildings did the trick.
All share the same unique highlight: they are sited within some of the most breath-taking scenery that rural Scotland has to offer.
To come across a bothy is the closest experience Scotland has to a palm tree dotted island mirage after hours stranded out at sea.
With one slight difference: this vision is real.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“A portrait can change its character depending on where it is placed and what light it receives.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“The spaces around us define so much more of our lives than we might at first think.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Apply restrictions on people with vision and their desire to make doesn't just endure.
It flourishes.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Coorie is a way of being that takes in what's around us.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Coorie isn't just a decorative extra.
Amid trying circumstances, Scots and honorary Scots have dug deep and fought through.
The result of these collaborations is a country greater than the sum of its parts, a bothy in the storm offering shelter through shared ideas and homage paid to the past.
You only need to knock on the door.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“1. Thou shalt respect Scotland's history but not become a pastiche.
Tradition is a dish best served fresh, so instead of perpetuating tired stereotypes of Scotland, the coorie movement moves forward our oldest rituals.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“2. Thou shall not fear the cold.
So many coorie activities involve being outdoors: hiking demands a steely core and constitution, exploring the woods for crafty finds requires sturdy footwear - even skiing in the Cairngorms requires patience.
All these pursuits offer the chance to clear the mind and get to know the country from within.
Wild swimming in Scottish lochs is having a moment.
Its beauty, swimmers claim, lies in the restorative nature of an ice-cold dip set against a backdrop of Scotland's most idyllic scenery.
Nobody promised Barbadian temperatures, or clear blue seas, but for enthusiasts the appeal lies in testing yourself to your furthest limits.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“3. Thou shall keep it Scottish (where possible)
Money in the pocket of small businesses is cash that helps local people and their families.
It's about making tiny improvements where we can, in the hope that they add up to a significant difference.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“4. Thou shall attempt a staycation, even if thou detests the word staycation.
There are two types of people in the world. Those who will camp, and those who won't.
Those who fall in the former category need little encouragement to pack up their sleeping bag and a Kelly Kettle and head out into the countryside. The ones who wander freely clearing up after themselves can set up a tent anywhere they fancy, as long as they show respect.
This freedom to roam also lends itself well to the coorie movement. Braving the night-time chill around a fire with a furry friend at your feet and a hot chocolate in your hands after a day of toiling to create a coorie campsite is pretty special.
A caravan stay in Aberfeldy is a more realistic option for the extended family than schlepping abroad en masse.
Bonding time between grandparents and wee ones also gives mums and dads the chance for a gin on the banks of the River Tay before sundown.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“5. Thou must set the scene with tunes.
Road trips aren't the only time a decent playlist is required.
How we consume music has changed radically over the years.
Dinner at my grandparents' house was set to silence, at my parents' the radio, and at my friends' something much more personal: a playlist put together for the occasion with songs that are meaningful to us.
Supper is on hold until the right music starts to play, even if it means holding a knife and fork and slavering over the smell of dinner until the person in charge of the tunes has done their job.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“6. Embrace the midge
Everyone has a theory on what attracts the Highland midge to certain people. What can be agreed upon is that these miniscule biting insects are the greatest hindrance to enjoying life outdoors in Scotland.
The midge is most common in any location where water meets land. They prefer acidic soils, peaty and rich in nutrients, and dance over rushes and reeds in a fast-paced mating ritual.
Science suggests some people are more attractive to the midge because of the taste of their blood. Researchers deduced that the blood of subjects with the fewest numbers of bites contained high levels of ketone, a chemical produced when the body burns fat.
Personally, I think it's worth running the gamut of midges to sip at least one hot drink on the patio.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“7. Thou must share ideas - and spread the word
The bookshop that offers a box at the till with a sign saying "Free books! Help yourself" will always win favour over its competitors.
In my research for The Art of Coorie it became clear that the giving and swapping of goods and labour in creative industries functions as a crucial currency.
There is an understandable desire to want to keep nice things to ourselves.
But isn't there also a responsibility to share what we find?
Social media fosters a need to tell the world what we are doing at all times, especially if it supports the notion that what we are doing is exciting.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“To me it means to snuggle in or huddle in. Coorie in if the kids are going to bed, and coorie doon if it's cold.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Coorie is to feel included, warm and cosy. For reading a book together or telling stories. Fire on, as well.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“The closest book most journalists have to a bible is their publication's style guide. Looking back over previous editions allow us to track the "ebb and flow of a living language", according to The Times.
In my eyes, new additions to a style guide or dictionary highlight the impact of shifts in culture better than almost anything else.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“One of my friends has synaesthesia, a condition where one sense automatically triggers another; in her case it means she sees words as colours.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“In Scotland, the journey to a remote destination is part of the experience.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“In Scotland, the journey to a remote destination is part of the experience.
It's as if the landscape is designed to facilitate discovery.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Growing up in the late 1970s, coorie at my gran's house meant to keep warm and cuddle in. No double glazing or duvets then.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Apparent simplicity best exemplifies coorie in the countryside.
Isolate the few component parts that come together to make the experience special and we can see they are the same threads that weave through the Scottish identity.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“The place bewitched me.
You could spend weeks here, I realised, and it still wouldn't feel long enough.
It was a Narnia moment: the door opening to a place that felt like an adventure playground for adults.
Pull open the door, tip your head back and watch for shooting stars on an August night.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Waking up in a hut clarifies our relationship to the land around us.
The things we think are essential to living melt away and less complicated ideas take their place.
All we really need is fire, a place to wash, a desk to draw or form or think.
Somewhere to capture a new view of the world and somewhere comfortable to sleep.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“One of the highlights of exploring the Scottish wilderness is spotting buildings that punctuate the landscape.
They can be as humble as a doocot, as intriguing as an abandoned farmstead or as imposing as a ruined Palladian mansion.
Each one will give clues to the people who have lived on and worked the land.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“I remember being coorie at my gran's house next to her and my granda on the sofa but now it's something I like to do with my dog.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“It's easy to think if coorie as an exclusively country pursuit.
City neighbourhoods are governed by factors that challenge the principles of coorie, such as restrictions on log burning stoves and planning bodies putting their foot down when it comes to leftfield ideas.
Yet this hasn't diminished the aspirations of urban Scots determined to create and savour coorie in the best ways they can.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“What's striking about the city as a construct is how it functions as a prism through which we contemplate our own identity and goals.
The pubs or places of worship we spend time in reflect our own internal architecture and one person's lived experience of a city can wildly oppose the next's.
This makes conversations about coorie in the city all the more interesting.
Coorie streets full of bustle might not always be beautiful but there is always the potential to polish what is there.
Life in a Scottish city can feel like a constant grapple between what's best for us and what we desire.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“There are few finer sights than morning sunlight on sandstone tenements.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Coorie city places encourage new experiences.
Their confines allow us to connect with our friends amid a mass of people passing in and out of the city limits.
Every Scottish city is a product of the people who live in it and how each residents chooses to express themselves.
Its coorie spaces offer distraction from the everyday drudgery of life.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Those who come to lose themselves in the musty romance of a second-hand bookshop can forget their worries for a few hours as they pore over unexpected gems found on the shelves.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way