Is Scotland really that bad in August?

[drumandhake]

I'm from down south and considering a camping holiday next August in Scotland as far north as I can go for about a month. All I keep hearing about is the midges, are they really that bad?
Will have a seven and five year old with me.

In a word, yes.

If you go to the East, you'll avoid the worst of it, but do not camp in the West of Scotland between June and September.

They can be appalling - literally so thick you can't move without bumping into them. I adore the Highlands and have spent a lot of time there but would never camp for this very reason.

Yes
It's horrific
Torrential rain
Freezing cold

Not joking. I've seen it three years, so read over three decades.

You will need a mesh midge mask and hat!! It's horrendous.

Good job I didn't book the flights then!

We go every year to Stirlingshire and Iona and it's no problem at all. Only place we ever had an issue was Skye.

My daughter and her friends camped and canoed for DoE expedition in Scotland in august. They were all eaten alive. No joke they were covered in bites never seen anything as bad.

@cafedesreves not bad or 'not too bad' ?

Depends where you go. East coast at the seaside with constantly moving water….good

West coast or Aviemore beside a loch…literally clouds upon clouds of the like fuckers. They tend to ignore me but ADORE my husband. Camping in Oban and Aviemore have been horrific. Seaside holidays on the moray firth are absolutely fine.

There are candles and lotions but nothing is even completely good

Oh campsite at Loch Lomond also horrible

@drumandhake I honestly have never noticed them on Iona or at my parents-in-law. But Skye my husband was eaten alive.

Try towards the east coast. Moray is lovely (near Inverness airport). Also the Cairngorms aren't too bad for midges. I live on the edge of this area and they don't really trouble us.

We camp in Scotland regularly, often near Loch Lomond. Midges are sometimes annoying but never so bad it has put us off. The only place I've found them horrendous was Knoydart.

@Aurea thanks, good tips!

Don't they just come near water?

Findhorn, Moray is great for little ones and as it's by the (sandy) beach there are no midges there.

I’m from the Cairngorms and really they aren’t that bad there.
Have had a few trips to the west highlands and found they were much much worse there. But it is absolutely beautiful, so to my mind, worth it.

We spent the last week of august on Arran and only had midge issues two times:
One one specific beach, at the early evening and then at the top of a hill, we got out the car to get a snap of the view and were basically chased back into our car by the swarms

I live in central Scotland and we rarely have midgies. Near the sea it's fine, lochs and forest/hillside is a nightmare. Apart from that it will probably be raining/overcast. Go abroad much better!

Midge wise, Highlands possibly; Lowlands no. I think their reputation in England is much worse than the reality - my parents in law were aghast at the thought of an outdoor wedding in Scotland in August near a loch, actually couldn't believe the bride and groom had booked given how many midges there would surely be. As a Scot it never even crossed my mind as an issue, and it wasn't. Scottish weather is truly shite though.

It depends how far north you are. Central Scotland is fine.

Midges aren't that bad, clegs are worse

Go to the SW of Scotland, the Gulf Stream gives it a warm climate, beautiful coastline, Southern Uplands for hills and walking.

West (including islands) definitely worse than East. Boggy hills bad for them too. Our family heirarchy of edibility goes me, DS2, DD6, DH (only if all other living bodies are fully covered or elsewhere - he only got bitten packing up while the rest of us hunkered in the car!)

It's not school holidays in most (all) of Scotland after the first couple of weeks, which might or might not suit...

We did a trip in a campervan this summer. I'm Australian and we obviously have all sorts of biting, stinging creatures out there but I have to say that the Scottish midges were worse than anything I've ever experienced because once a swarm is onto you there is no escape! They bite very soon after landing on your skin, it's like many needles sticking into you at once.

That said, the Avon skin-so-soft oil spray worked really well to stop the bites (they kind of drown in it on your skin), and, when we were by the sea we weren't troubled by them at all as the breeze keeps them away. I think you just need to plan to stick by the coast.

Watch the midge challenge chap for a bit of a taste of what it's like!