The current plan is to spend much of September in the western Scottish Islands--From Lewis & Harris down to Mull, Arran, Bute, and everything in between.
For anyone who has been in these areas in September, how bad will the midges be?
Posted by
Chicagoland
640 posts
Too many factors to predict. Midges can be very localized. We were on Mull and Skye in September 2023 and had no problems even though we met others who complained about them. However, we weren't hiking through boggy areas.
Be prepared.
The Smidge Report is handy.
Posted by
London
1743 posts
September is late in the year for serious midgey problems. Should be fine.
Posted by
Duluth🌲
9556 posts
I was there in May, which is kind of the shoulder season counterpart to September, and I agree that it varies depending on where you are. But the only time I ran into midges was on Arran, and that was in a very boggy stretch at the south of the island. I think if you avoid the really wet parts, you should be fine.
BTW, that sounds like a wonderful trip, Frank. I love that whole area (although I have not been to Bute), but Mull, Arran and Lewis and Harris are sheer heaven.
Posted by
1773 posts
I was on Barra and Arran in the first half of September 2019. Very few midges (and I am a biting insect magnet). But Barra was also experiencing the tail end of an Atlantic Hurricane and insects don't fly well in the wind.
Posted by
Glasgow, Scotland
1741 posts
Midges like it cool and above all damp. They don't like to move too far from the areas they like, as much as they are right pains in the Trossachs you walk away from them they won't follow.