2017-July-07 Scotland, Glasgow: Lesley The Hutter

We have been with Lesley for the past few days in Glasgow.  Les and Jean met in 1991 when they worked on campsites in the Loire valley in France and have been friends ever since.

Lesley has recently become a hutter (more on this below) and she drove us about 40 minutes North of Glasgow on the way to Loch Lomond to see her off-the-grid hut (although there is a water tap nearby).  We had a great walk around the property looking at all the other huts, met a hutter or two and then had soup and bread for lunch in her hut before returning to the city.  We reckon it would be great to return one year for a Hogmanay party!

Chairs With A View

The Hut

Lesley And Jean 

 

Of course, Lesley also took us around Glasgow city and showed us the wall murals, Glasgow University, Kelvin Park, Art Gallery and Museum, Argyle Street and the Tennants brewery.

Glasgow Wall Mural

More About Hutting

Huts are simple, rustic buildings that are central to Scotland’s cultural heritage. The history of hutting in Scotland is largely associated with a working class movement that developed early in the 20th century when small holiday huts began to be built on land close to Scotlandʼs main industrial cities.

The best known of these sites is at Carbeth in Stirlingshire (this is where Lesley’s hut is), where 140 huts and a thriving population of hutters remain. The origins of the Carbeth hut site were based on providing access to green spaces for returning soldiers from the First World War in 1920.  This community, mainly founded by socialists and communists from Glasgow and Clydebank before WWII, began a rent strike 14 years ago after the landlord tried to triple rents.  In 2013, the Carbeth Hutters Community company was finally successful in buying out landlord Allan Barns-Graham for the sum of £1.75 million.

To preserve the cultural and historical context of huts, they have to conform to building rules and must be very basic and small (23 square metres maximum).  They can however have extensions added on as long as you can still see the original shape.  They can be untreated wood, stained wood or painted dark green.  The hutters follow the ethos of primarily using 2^nd hand materials and furniture.