Scotland - when to go

Didn't Mark Twain say "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in Scotland?"

We spent a couple weeks in Scotland in July and it rained nearly everyday, never even got to 70 degrees-- as we still had a great time! You see that they have thing called "whisky" that warms the cockles of your heart!

October is normally worse than July-- highs in 50s, often rainy. If that's not to your liking (and whiskey isn't enough), maybe you could try July and have better luck than us.

But I think you'll have a grand time even if it is tad dreary! What says castles and bagpipes and lochs more than a bit of rain?

Happy travels.

You will have weather ...
The days are getting shorter but its still a good time to be touring ,the heaving crush of summer will be gone and autumn colours will be in.
The east is a LOT drier and sunnier than the west on average.
I went, in effect 5 weeks last spring with rain only twice...
Then again I have been on Skye and had a day of 9 inches of rain .
Head on out and have some fun

The weather is known to change every 10 minutes. This is not an exaggeration.

Was there late September to mid-October 2022. Light jackets were needed most of the time and it did rain a few days. There were only a couple days when it rained all day. Other than those couple days, the weather didn’t prevent us from doing what we wanted.

Scottish comedian Billy Connolly said that there are two seasons in Scotland, winter..... and June. He's basically correct. I always have a wind and waterproof rain jacket in the car, along with a lightweight puffer jacket. I also always carry a beanie hat and good gloves. Weather will be milder in England. If you intend to travel in the highlands and islands of the west coast you could well encounter every type of weather in one day.

I have been in Scotland in all four seasons. And sometimes, you can't tell them apart.

I've spent summers in the eastern lowlands of Scotland and needed a jacket every day. I've spend winters in the same area and needed nothing more than the same jacket....and perhaps a sweater (jumper).

Rain is inevitable. Changing weather is inevitable.

England is a little better but we're not talking about the tropics.

The good part of going in October is that the crowds will have thinnned out.

If you don't like whisky, try Tablet. There's enough sugar in it to keep your energy up for days.

You can have a whale of a time in Scotland in October, the autumn colours and the landscapes. It can have weather that feels like the last splutterings of summer and the first howlings of winter. It can be very wet even by Scottish standards, and as it is the month the clocks go back, it is clearly getting darker earlier.

It should also be noted that October is the beginning of the end of the tourism season, things are beginning to close if open seasonally which would need to be built in to any plans.

I’d start in Scotland and then head South. The weather could be anything in October but it’s not a ‘bad’ time to visit. I would not go any later in the year because the end of October school holiday is traditionally the end of the tourist season and some things which only open seasonally will shut after that.

October is a great time, IMO.In fact, we enjoy holidays all over Scotland including the far NW and Outer Isles all year round - depths of December/January included.

Colours and light are quite something at that time of year especially if photography is an interest.You’ve also got the chance to see some amazing sunrises and sunsets at a decent hour!

We are in Scotland or Ireland for the month of May every year. Statistically, it has the least rain, and the throngs of travelers are just ramping up, and the days are long and warm-ish. I've never needed more than a T-shirt. fleece pullover and very light rain jacket. We have had some wild weather in Scotland in May, but only a few days per trip.

We also have to be aware that we happen to live in forest fire country and they won't get started before late June, so we have to be able to change plans quickly.

I have been in both Ireland and Scotland in April. Both trips we had very good weather (though locals said we got better than usual). I do recall Scotland being on the breezy side and requiring a heavier jacket more than on the Ireland trip.

My husband and I did a UK & Ireland trip and for every country that we visited the weather was changing constantly.

I think that's one of the nice things about this area is it doesn't really matter what time of the year you go at weather-wise. We've been to Scotland before during the fringe festival in summer and it's really really busy and pricey.

I think the best time to go is spring or fall.