Camping in Scotland - how bad are the midges really?!

[user2848502016]

Thinking of doing a bit of a Scottish trip in the Summer, maybe 2-3 different locations, camping.
But then I remembered about midges….
I have been to Scotland in the summer before but never camping so could avoid the worst of the midges.
Is camping in western Scotland/Highlands in August a terrible idea?

Midges/mosquitoes like biting me and I do react to the bites.

It honestly depends on location and weather - near water they are worse but if it’s windy they bugger off!

Glencoe is awful….. Fort William I found ok

Smidge spray and head nets help.

Fucking horrendous.

they love me. I’d never camp.

Yes, the midges will be bad. They would be much better if you went in May, which I believe is the sunniest month in Scotland.

Near stagnant water, puddles and trees - don't do it.
A coastal breeze is good.

Will have to be late July/August unfortunately due to school holidays

No firm plan on location but areas I’d like to visit are Mull/Skye/Inverness area/Cairngorms/possibly the Orkneys

Loch Lomond on a warm, wet evening... people in full midge suits, including head nets. It was like camping in the day after the apocalypse.

Dog was bitten badly, dog inhaled them too, were in the food, the drink, the tent. DH bitten so badly he couldn't walk properly for a couple of days.

Decamped at first opportunity. Only time my DH has sworn at me in 30 years.

Love Scotland but never again. Lived there for years, plenty of areas are midge free.

A nightmare. As a friend discovered after sprinting around the campsite having exhausted all other options, they’re impossible to outrun too.

The moray coast is no where near as bad as the west coast for them! I used to get eaten alive but am rarely bothered with them here!

My mate camped on the shore of Loch Ness at the end of July and just used a spray of repellent in the evening.
We went to Dornoch (East coast) at the same time and I didn’t see a single midge.

Are you mad?! I mean you might get lucky and it’s really hot and windy

orkneys could be safe as it’s often windy there

doing all that in a couple of weeks would be a lot of travelling - the north roads are not fast

They are awful on the west coast. I remember doing a cycle ride and my arm started itching. Looked at it and it was covered. Tried to brush them off and instead somehow squashed most of them and they stayed stuck to my arm. It was on a warm day with light misty rain. I didn't get bitten but my husband did. It's such a gorgeous place but those midges are a pest!

Midges are a funny one. They love you or eat you, and each batch can be different.

we are rural Scotland, near water, and I am more bothered by clegs.

we have been further up to highlands remote every year without issue. Yet once I was swarmed in Skye and was really unwell. A bit of a family story now.

it wouldn’t put me off and shouldn’t you. Nobody else had more than one bite. I was just unlucky.

they are so random you may be eaten, but you may never see them.

they don’t like smoke from fires, or dry weather. You see them in the air. Just go for it.

Yes wouldn’t do it all but these are just potential areas.

But by the sounds of it may be better avoided, unless we do the East coast

Last time I was there in August we were in the Trossachs and didn’t see midges at all but we’re lucky with the weather and didn’t have any rain (and were in a holiday cottage)

Stick to the East!
Perth, St Andrews, Dundee, Balleter, Dunbar, Inverness, maybe Aviemore.
We did those on a little tour last year. We've been horrendously bitten on the west side in the past, not one nibble!

Orkney will be fine. It's always breezy and they rarely come out.

We camped for 3 nights this year late August near Loch Lomond and my husbands arms were a mass of lumps from the midge bites. The little buggers were even waiting outside for breakfast when he opened up the tent flap in the morning… I kept piling on the jungle strength repellent and seemed to be ok.
Couldn’t sit outside in the evening at all. East Scotland seems ok though.

How about the Cairngorms? The midges aren’t so bad the further east you go.

East is much less prone to midges - cairngorms and up towards Black Isle or even up the east coast

Tiree was great. Never saw a midge there & it's a lovely island.

Also Dumfries and Galloway..beautiful, lots of campsites and nae midgies

D&G do get midges

there is an element of luck with the weather and an element of some people just attract them and others don’t

Depends where you are and what the conditions are like. They can ruin a trip.

Hmm ok perhaps a Cairngorms/Inverness/up to the Orkneys tour would be best then!

I found Fort William ok in August too.