About this book:

Victorian visitors had shooting lodges – Scots had trips doon the watter.

Norwegian citizens had hytte – Scots had Butlins.

Why have the inhabitants of one of Europe’s prime tourist destinations been elbowed off the land and exiled from nature for so long?

Lesley Riddoch relives her own bothy experience, rediscovers lost hutting communities, travels through hytte-covered Norway and suggests that thousands of humble woodland huts would give Scots a vital post-covid connection with nature and affordable, low-impact holidays in their own beautiful land – at last.

Reviews

'…a clarion call for a revolution in the way that we understand home, leisure and our relationship with the natural world'

The Guardian

‘Lesley Riddoch uses her new book to explain why our country is perfect to find a bolt hole away from the stresses and strains of modern city life.’

The Times

‘A fascinating tale of why Scotland’s history of recreational hut culture is so far from the European norm. Lesley brings a blend of academic rigour, journalistic flair and entertaining story-telling to this neglected topic and makes a compelling case for a renaissance of the Scottish hut’

Andy Wightman, author of The Poor Had No Lawyers