Gardening show star on new passion
weekend, switch off our phones and get off grid. It’s such a lovely thing to do.” Peter, who is originally from Oban, now happily uses the nickname The Highland Hutter. He hopes his book The Art Of Hutting: Living Off Grid With The Highland Hutter – published by Black & White, available from November 9 – will build on a campaign by Reforesting Scotland to see one thousand new huts built in the country. Peter, whose gardening show is on BBC Alba, said: “In countries that share our latitude – Canada, Iceland, through
Scandinavia and northern Europe – it’s very normal for people to have a cabin or hut where they head off for short breaks. Now that is really starting to take off in Scotland again.
“The A Thousand Huts For Scotland Campaign is an amazing initiative that is doing great work in bringing hutting to prominence. Building your own hut is a challenge but when you meet someone who has a hut the benefits are evident.
“It’s wonderful to see many new hutting initiatives, where hutting communities are being set up, building huts alongside each other or on land they’ve bought or are renting together.
“But there are other huts that stand in glorious solitude in the landscape, built by those who can more aptly be described as hermit hutters, like my dad.”
Peter’s book sees him visit huts across Scotland including beautifully coloured beach huts in Moray, a woodland hutting community in Carbeth, Stirlingshire, and traditional shielings in the Western Isles.
He give tips on everything from how to build the perfect outdoor fire to stove-top cooking. It also contains recipes for hungry hutters including nettle soup and the Hebridean Baker’s gingerbread crumble.
Peter added: “It’s hard to say who loves our hut most of all but my money is on our dog. Seoras knows how to live in the moment – and commandeer the space in front of the fire.”