Hello good travel people! My wife and I are in the "thinking about it" stage of planning a trip to (mostly) Scotland for 2027. Just roughly at this point, but maybe fly into London (we like London), spend a few days, then up to Edinburgh by train. Maybe three nights there and then?? Inverness? Western islands and Scotch tastings? Much to be worked out and we will have to zero in on where we want to go, but for today, my question is more about WHEN to go. After dealing with crowds on previous European trips, we would like to avoid high summer, when schools are out and most people are vacationing. The fall can be very busy for us with stuff going on at home, though maybe November could fit. What about March though? Certainly we'd have to prepare for some cold and/or rainy weather, but we'll take that over crowds. Is March a good time to tour around that part of the UK? Thanks for sharing any thoughts.
Posted by
Angleterre
2899 posts
The weather is unpredictable, but what is predictable is when the clocks go forward, giving you an extra hour of daylight in the evenings - 28 March 2027. I would travel after that date.
Posted by
Massachusetts, USA
2407 posts
This is my personal opinion, but I think March in Scotland would be too cold and rainy to be enjoyable. Have you checked various weather websites to see what past years have been like in March? You could try weatherspark.
https://weatherspark.com/login
And there are others, of course.
We visited Scotland in late May and the first 2 weeks of June one year. We had glorious weather, lots of sunshine and comfortable temps. We really didn't think the crowds were that bad, but we might have a higher tolerance of crowds. We discovered when we were on Skye that the further out we travelled from Portree the crowds were much less. The Old Man of Storr, for example, was busy but as we continued along the Trotternish Peninsula, the crowds thinned out quite rapidly.
If June is too late for you, would you consider May? I think there would be a greater chance of better weather.
Posted by
Freedonia
19414 posts
I'm in Scotland now and I have to wear a jacket a couple of times a week. So don't worry too much about the weather.
However, at that time of the year, especially in the Islands, things may be closed.
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
3139 posts
It would be better if you could push it back to May/early June. Not only will you get longer daylight hours but everything will be growing and you shouild get the wild flowers. If you get to the Western Isles, you may also hear the very rare Corncrake too. (They are very shy so chances of seeing them in the long grass are minimal but they have a very distinctive call crex-crex which has been described a bit like drawing a credit card across the teeth of a comb. It can be heard regularly from May- July during teh breeding season. Once heard, you won't forget it!
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
4778 posts
If you decide to go then, I would keep to major cities and plan on indoor pursuits. I was there 5 weeks from mid-April and though we had little rain, the Arctic winds may do you. I had one afternoon gor Tshirt weather and the rest was 3 -5 layers. I am so glad I had a scarf as even with all those layers the winds whip down your neck. Even in early May there was a morning or two with traces of snow.
I come from Ottawa Canada but by the end of those 5 weeks I was pretty tired of the cold.
Posted by
London
1680 posts
I am sharing from the perspective of someone who used to live in Edinburgh and has experienced it all year round. I definitely would not visit in November, it's my least favourite time of year for anywhere in the UK. It's very dark, cold, and wet. March can be ok but the chill hasn't left the air yet- I would still be wearing my winter coat up until late March, plus it rains. April is better, but really the best time is May or June. Schools in Scotland don't let out till the end of June so you won't have as many people on domestic holidays earlier in the month. The weather then really is so much nicer- not only do you have the very long days but there's less rain, a lot more sun, everything is green, etc.