Would YOU fork out an incredible £32,000 for an 8ft x 6ft beach hut?

As the door creaked open on my prospective new beachside home, one word swiftly came to mind: bijou.

Quickly followed by two others. Swing and cat!

Measuring just six feet wide and eight feet long, this idyllic bolthole was definitely diminutive.

And I wasn’t likely to get many bricks for my (considerable) buck. It is almost completely made of wood.

So, at an eye-watering price tag of £32,500, say hello to Scotland’s most peculiar beach hut (or, er, garden shed as some may cruelly label it).

Nestling on a truly spectacular site at Findhorn beach in Morayshire, the final eight of a total 30 are currently up for sale. They are, admittedly, short on amenities.

 No power or running water for example. No furniture. Quite frankly, they are an estate agent’s nightmare!

There is the magnificent view though sir.

It’s relatively unusual for new ones to come on the market. Most in Scotland have been passed down through families over many generations as an heirloom of sorts.

However, they have attracted interest - and controversy - from all over the world. Many have already sold, much to the initial annoyance of some 175 locals who filed objections with the gripe they would detract from the amenity of the beach.

‘These are not huts from B&Q,’ proclaimed Ian Sutherland McCook, the architect behind the quirky little dwellings.

While a valiant sales pitch, you’d certainly hope so for over 50 times the price of your average shed at a local DIY store.

So, what could I use my new hut for? Well, there’s the view. And the water’s edge is but a hop and a skip over the pebbly beach. It’s a nice spot for a scenic candlelit dinner. Mmm, but no power.

Some owners rent them out as Airbnb glamping properties - though this may be a hard sell during the winter where you’d be blown to Oslo and back to Moray if you visited with an open umbrella.

There was even a wedding in one of them recently. The happy couple opened the shed, had their reception there and used the hut for the wedding flowers.

Most people, says architect McCook, see them as a place of peace and tranquillity synonymous with one of Scotland’s most picturesque places.

He also believes he’s seen off the early objections to the huts.

‘A lot of people jumped on the bandwagon,’ he said.

‘There were online petitions which people in New South Wales, Canberra and even Toronto signed.

‘At the time I said to them, “if these were good enough for your grandparents, why aren’t they good enough for you?”

‘But it’s settled down now. When something is developed in a well-mannered way, the objections fade because people think they’re nice.’

He adds: ‘In simple terms, if you look anywhere away from here you will not get a beach hut for anything less than £50,000 or £60,000.’

The staycation has enjoyed something of a renaissance in recent years. Perhaps the pandemic played its part with those travel restrictions which forced us all to look a little closer to home.

This allowed McCook to take what he describes as an ‘opportunistic’ idea - alongside his wife, Sophie, who owns the land through Findhorn Holdings Ltd - into something tangible and provide locals with a cheery alternative to traditional remote holidays.

‘You could spend £30,000 on a static caravan tomorrow,’ he said.

‘But if you do, within 10 years the value will have halved and in 20 years you’ll have to pay someone to take it away.

‘Whereas people are selling the original beach huts here that they bought six or seven years ago and making their money back, if not more. The reason for that is that they’re built to last.

‘We designed them in association with a firm of marine engineers from Aberdeen and they were designed to withstand wave action and wind forces as it can be quite severe during the winter. If they weren’t designed properly, they could suffer’.

Valid point, I thought. Though this was a poorly timed speech when I clocked the hut across from me with a hole in the side of it. In fairness, the North Sea can be a cruel mistress.

She too is responsible for the demise of the beach huts that existed here until the late 20th century, as well as some supposedly ‘shoddy workmanship’ which McCook assures has not been repeated.

It’s fair to say this has been one of the most divisive issues in Moray over the last 10 years. And while locals are now largely supportive of their premise, there is a consistent gawk on mention of the price tag.

Rosie Ploughman, 31, lives across the water in the nearby Black Isle.

She said: ‘I think they’re quite cute, but I didn’t realise they were so expensive.

‘£32,500 is a lot. I wouldn’t pay that.

‘My mum is a jeweller and she’s made a whole range of enamelled products of the huts. I think they draw people over to the beach which is nice because we only have a lighthouse where I live’.

Another local who lives nearby, said: ‘The huts have become a tourist attraction.’

‘But the price of them is ridiculous. It’s just a shed at the end of the day.’