To want a female only dorm in a bunkhouse?

Who cares about gender, it's the other person's sex which matters. I wouldn't worry so much about sharing with Steve if he'd been born Sarah.

Well I consider myself a daft 20 year old, but I wouldn't sleep in the same room as a man - well, unless he was MY man. I'd cancel and tell them why. I don't know whether I'm going to be considered a prude (if I am, it'll be the 1st time) but sharing a room with a ma - O K., somebody with a p - is not my idea of a good night's sleep!

Glad you got a pod- have a fantastic time.

I would be a bit concerned about that, especially if only two people. I travelled in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia when much younger. Several mixed dorm/room scenarios, but with multiple people. Nothing bad happened but I was always very wary.

Enjoy your hike! I did the WHW about 15 years ago and loved it. Currently have a foot problem that's holding me back from long distance walks, but if/when that gets better it'd be on my bucket list to return to it.

So you’d happily sleep in a dorm with Susan and her 7” schlong but not Dave and his?

You need to only use SEX in your communications. GENDER includes anyone identifying, not biological.

Are they genuinely female only?

Go on to Hostelworld. They have female only dorms in properties all over Scotland.

Sorry I'm not sure what you want the outcome to be here. Even if they were strict about single sex, a man may have already booked one of the two bunks meaning you wouldn't even have the option to stay, they'd be waiting for another male customer to fill the other bunk.

I've been thinking about this and I know the OP probably left it late to book, so her options are limited, etc. But. It's natural to feel vulnerable when we sleep somewhere new. The number one top requirement of a place where you're going to be sleeping is that you feel safe. So clean sheets and a cockroach-free bed are also vitally important but I'd rather have dirty sheets and feel safe than a fruit basket and free mini bar but not feel comfortable about falling asleep. They ABU imo - they should tell you the sex of the other person.

I’ve had single sex hiking accommodation in Europe.

Each sex was assigned their own barn.

Every person is potentially a risk to another person but I’m not living my life in fear of a potential very-low chance of assault.

Women (and men) have the “right” to select accommodation which best fits their need and budget. I personally don’t want to share with anyone, so I don’t. Not because they might murder me in my bed, but because they might snore and fart all night in theirs.

Thank god previous posters from hiking communities have offered a balanced and sensible view of their experiences. Imagine what the Matratzenlager visitors would think of some of these comments! The hysteria would be absolutely bewildering to them.

Why not ask to be moved to one of the larger rooms if a space becomes available? Or maybe even swap when you get there. Most people staying are likely to be walking the WHW (or part of it) so you may see them at previous accommodations.

You can't "reroute your trip" if you're walking The West Highland Way, and this section has very limited accommodation. That's why even basic bunkhouse beds are so expensive.

Voice of reason 🙌

I'm a long distance hiker and in Europe and Scandinavia it's always mixed. In most huts in the alps you have "Matratzenlager" which is a huge mattress which everyone sleeps on, mixed sex.
In all the years I have never had a problem with anyone in the rooms at night (I was once sexually harrassed by a waiter in one of the huts but that is another story). Most people are far too knackered and fall asleep the second they get in there.
I totally get that you find it uncomfortable, especially as you've never experienced it before. One thing I have always done, even though I've never experienced any issues, is to keep my emergency whistle under my pillow which I could then blow if someone did start to behave in an inappropriate manner.

I've done many a walking holiday and never once seen male/female only dorms. This isn't woke madness. It's just simply the way things have long been done. Many walkers travel as a couple or in mixed groups and want to be together. That said, I'd never stay somewhere with two bed rooms as that's just a bit odd no matter who you're sharing with.

Firefightress1 · Yesterday 18:58
MrsSkylerWhite · Yesterday 18:49

Unfortunately not, it's literally the middle of nowhere.”

(completely missing point ….. ) It’s not Luibeilt, is it? 👻

I dont understand what you mean.

Sorry, when I read your description of the location I immediately thought of an infamous allegedly haunted bothy/bunkhouse featured on the Uncanny podcast, in the highlands “literally in the middle of nowhere”.

If it was, was going to say don’t go there! 😄

Odd to have a room just for two really in a bunkroom/hut situation, we do a lot of hiking here in nz and everyone sleeps together in the huts, it is how it is but they tend to be big bunk rooms. Hostels are different.

I completely agree women should have the right to privacy, but there would have been other accommodation options available that didn’t involve staying in a mixed sex 2 bed bunkhouse if the OP had either booked further in advance or budgeted for the hotel. Women don’t have the right to try and book a mixed sex dorm (for a totally optional trip!) and then get upset that it’s not single sex, when it’s her own poor planning that means there is no other option.

It’s a £1k trip, OP is hardly in dire straights she could have budgeted for a hotel stay. There are single pods down the road, OP could have booked these earlier but now they are fully booked. There is an option to book out both bunks and have a room to yourself, but again OP has left planning too late and this isn’t an option. OP could have booked into a larger 4/6 bed room with safety in numbers, but again has booked at the last minute so this isn’t an option. Ultimately the issue is that OP has left booking accommodation until too late and there is only one bed available in her budget and location and this is a single bed in a mixed sex 2 bed room. The issue here is failure to plan adequately, not an issue with the existence of mixed sex facilities. What are the bunkhouse supposed to do if the other person who has booked is a man? Kick him out even though he made his booking first because the OP thinks she’s entitled to a single sex room and hold the room for a woman only, potentially losing money if no woman books in?

Men are a risk to women - to deny that is ludicrous. Saying that men are a risk to women is NOT remotely suggesting that "all men are sex attackers". We just don't know which ones AREN'T - do we?

Moreover, women should have the right to PRIVACY from strange men - surely you see that? YOU might not want it - but an awful lot of women DO.