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Camping

Our UK Camping forum has all the information you need on finding the right equipment for your tent or caravan.

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

51 replies

user2848502016 · 10/11/2025 19:59

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.

OP posts:
Hannah1972 · 10/11/2025 21:18

We honeymooned in the west highlands. I took garlic tablets for about 4 months before we went and I didn’t get one midge bite (or vampire!). I was worried I would just smell of garlic but it was fine. My husband is normally fine, didn’t take garlic tablets and got bitten. Very cheap from Holland and Barrett.

ZiggyZowie · 10/11/2025 21:21

Hellish, I went camping in Mull, the tent was dark with them in morning
My eyelids swelled up,face went puffy.
I was on a boat to Iona and a woman passenger backed away saying " you should see a doctor". I think she thought it was something contagious......

HarrietSchulenberg · 10/11/2025 21:25

Definitely not Glencoe - even my cup of tea had a midge crust on it about 30 seconds out of the kettle.
Western Isles weren't so bad as it was beautifully breezy when we were there.
I've not been bothered by them in the coastal areas of Dumfries and Galloway but I can image they're lurking in the more foresty inland areas.

Octavia64 · 10/11/2025 21:27

Never been bothered in d&g (we go kirkudbright area).

Skye was a nightmare I got swarmed and my legs swelled up like an elephant. Didn’t even touch dh.

loch ness we found ok.

mamagogo1 · 10/11/2025 21:32

Take bug spray! Pretty bad near water

deste · 10/11/2025 21:44

Im from Scotland and have only seem Midges near Aviemore and that was next to a loch. We travel up to the Moray coast every weekend and have never seen them ever. They also have a micro climate up there so the weather can be warmer.

pinkduckk · 10/11/2025 21:53

We do a lot of camping, never had a problem in D&G, inland or coastal.
Gairloch was the worst I've ever encountered!

Gulliver88 · 10/11/2025 21:55

pinkduckk · 10/11/2025 20:36

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

Unless you go to glen trool!
But I agree mostly midge free

SatsumasRock · 10/11/2025 21:59

The West Coast would be crazy to consider at that time of the year. The East Coast you'd be fine.

The arsehole midges ruin what is a really beautiful part of the world. The East Coast is also beautiful (I'm biased because that's where I'm from) but a bit breezier and less moist and therefore generally midge free (or at least much, much, much fewer of the swarmy bitey bastards)

SatsumasRock · 10/11/2025 22:00

pinkduckk · 10/11/2025 21:53

We do a lot of camping, never had a problem in D&G, inland or coastal.
Gairloch was the worst I've ever encountered!

I still remember a holiday to Gairloch over 40 years ago. I was eaten alive. Looked like I had the measles. It was hideous.

Changename12 · 10/11/2025 22:42

OP, we go to the Scottish Highlands every year in May/June. We have to book accommodation quite early. I would imagine it is the same for camping pitches.

Coffeeishot · 10/11/2025 22:47

Octavia64 · 10/11/2025 20:02

Fucking horrendous.

they love me. I’d never camp.

Yes this 😂 im also allergic to midge bites and im scottish i avoid west scotland and Loch lomond in the summer i get eaten alive.

Go east op it is slightly better camp near the sea if you can.

MirrorMirror1247 · 10/11/2025 23:05

I camped by a loch near Pitlochry with friends a couple of years ago. It was July, I think. We had no problems with midgies, though I did take insect repellent just in case!

outdooryone · 11/11/2025 13:27

About 5 million of us manage to live up here with them, so clearly not that bad an issue.

My experience, 20 years of living in 3 different places up here, is that they can be horrid at the wrong time of year, on the wrong day, in the wrong place.

But they breed in 'waves' and it is the female who bites as she is preparing to mate. Therefore you find the first (of two or three waves) is in late May, often again in late July and occasionally again in September. If you are on day with more then 4mph of wind, they cannot fly. If you are away from water and food sources, they are unlikely to be an issue. If you are near urban areas, it is raining, it is outside the breeding season, then they are rarely an issue.

You may find you need to hide in a tent with some smidge and citronella candles, rather than sitting outside the tent. You may need to think about open campsites not woodland ones (Glencoe Campsite - shudder). You might want to time your trip well. You can buy nets an smidge.

In my 20 years of camping, canoeing, cycling, walking and more around Scotland, I can think of a few days a year where the smidge or nets come out. But for the other days in the year, not an issue.

That said, get a bad midging and it is horror. There are two types - one when you wonder if you will die, the other you hope you will die....

Changename12 · 11/11/2025 19:03

@outdooryone
The midges are only really bad in the highlands and the vast majority of the Scottish population live in the Borders or Central Belt.

peoplegetready · 11/11/2025 19:51

I live in the North West of scotland. I would give Mull and Skye a miss and stick to the east coast. Midges can be ferocious in August.

RaraRachael · 11/11/2025 20:02

Come to the north east. No midges here

ChubbyPuffling · 11/11/2025 20:20

Changename12 · 11/11/2025 19:03

@outdooryone
The midges are only really bad in the highlands and the vast majority of the Scottish population live in the Borders or Central Belt.

The worst holiday I ever had for midges was around Kielder water. Awful. We went home after a day.

JacknDiane · 11/11/2025 20:29

We were in Mull and Iona in September and didn't see a midge, didn't camp though fuck that

WeirdyBeardyMarrowBabyLady · 11/11/2025 20:38

Download Smidge and have a look at where midges tend to be and how bad they are before you commit.

PARunnerGirl · 11/11/2025 20:50

I live on the west coast. I mean… it’s horrific when they’re out 😆 But it needs to be low or no wind (even a little breeze is too much for them to fly), no direct sunshine/ heat, not high pressure. So there are LOADS of days you’re not bothered by them, especially during the day. They will usually come out after sundown even on a midge-less day.

Smidge, DEET (yuk), jungle formula, Skin So Soft (new or old formula) … nothing REALLY works when they are out in force except a very smoky fire (which many campsites or camping zones won’t allow now). We have lots of fire pits, chimineas, staked burners etc in our garden.

You could go east, or onto one of the northerly, windy islands like the Orkneys. Only thing is, you’ll miss out on the west coast 😁🤷‍♀️😍 🌊 🏔️💙

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 11/11/2025 21:08

Stick to the coast, you’ll be fine. Thst’s a massive itinerary you have planned.

BadgernTheGarden · 11/11/2025 21:14

Pick your place well. You can see them coming but nothing you can do, the cloud just envelopes you, ask about the specific place you are intending to camp, some places are fine. If you are just walking through an area you can use head nets and long sleeves and just keep moving, but camping could be a nightmare.

TaraRhu · 12/11/2025 08:40

Go to the east coast or north east coast. Hardly any midges.

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