Burnmouth Bothy including walled enclosures, Rackwick Bay, Hoy

Burnmouth Bothy is an early 19th century, single-storey former crofthouse with a roughly rectangular plan and a heather thatched roof. Attached to the northeast gable is a lower three-bay former byre with a flagstone roof. The bothy was restored in the 1970s for use as a bothy. The buildings feature undressed, rubble stone and thick walls, with gabled end walls and a shallow-pitched roof. It is situated on a slight rise in the middle of the curve of Rackwick Bay on the island of Hoy, with the southwest gable facing the sea and cliffs to the southeast and northwest.

The principal northwest elevation of the crofthouse includes a central timber door and a small window to the left, both flanked by two enlarged window openings. A small window is present in the southwest gable end. The byre features three windows and a timber door, while there are no openings in the rear elevation.

The heather-thatch roof is secured with netting and stone weights arranged in rows along the ridge, eaves, and center of the roof pitch. Each gable of the crofthouse has a chimneystack.

To the northwest of the bothy, there is a long rectangular walled enclosure, and to the southeast, a smaller detached rectangular walled enclosure along with the lower courses of a former outbuilding, all constructed of rubble stone.

The interior, as seen in 2017, consists of a large single space with exposed rubble walls. Raised rubble-built benches or sleeping areas have been added along the long walls. The fireplace on the northwest gable features a broad stone lintel and has been modified to accommodate a wood-burning stove, with a vertical recess to the left. The infilled fireplace in the southeast gable also has a heavy stone lintel. The interior of the former byre section has been converted into a toilet.