A Blast of Highland Life

Blàs, Across the Machair by C C Hutton

By Liz Treacher, Author

C C Hutton / Ceitidh Hutton is an award-winning writer of Gaelic children’s picture books and writer of English women’s contemporary fiction with a dash of Gaelic, a large sprinkling of humour, and a wee drop of Scots. She lives locally and spent many years travelling the area as a Gaelic Development Officer. She now spends her time writing, storytelling and helping to promote Gaelic. Recently, she has also been involved in delivering Scottish folktales to local schools and libraries.

Blàs, Across the Machair, is the latest heart-warming tale of the quirky community of Blàs. Blàs is a fictional community based in the Highlands, but as Ceitidh says in the foreword, local readers often think it is their village in disguise!


The Blàs books are about acceptance of who we are and the love of community. All wrapped around a woman’s intergenerational friendship. It is a heart-warming series full of charm and, true to rural life, wit and humour.


This is the third book in the Blas series, (although they are all stand-alone stories) and the village is once again facing serious problems. The heroine, Stroma, must find a way of providing a solid income stream for the community, perhaps by harnessing the very environment that is under threat.


I really enjoyed this book: the beautiful setting, the friendships, the hard work and resilience of a community, the glimpse of a gentle love story and a touch of folklore. The writing has a nice pace and the dialogue is delightful. The characters were fun – some of them quirky, all of them believable and likeable.

Liz Treacher is a writer based in Skelbo. 
Her latest novel, Vegan Recipes for New Age Men, 
is a romantic comedy set in the local area. 
It’s available to buy from Dornoch Bookshop.