Weather

Weather is weather, which means it’s always up in the air. September could be a nice month for the most part, but you should always be prepared for colder weather, rain, wind and clouds.

you can google the averages. WeatherSpark gives you 10 and 90% precentiles so you have a better idea of the range that could happen; except when the weather goes out of those ranges.... Always pack for the best and bring one lighter for warmer than expected that can also be used as a layer if cooler.... For Scotland in September, for me that would be a long sleeve t-shirt ... oh and a cheap light windbreaker/rain cover. That plus the light sweater that you should be bringing anyway ..... but even that depends on where is Scotland and how much outside vs inside, etc.

What kind of activities are you going to do? Any hiking or outdoor stuff?

I'm not sure if you are asking in relation to clothing or activities?

As a minimum for outerwear I'd have a waterproof rain jacket with a hood and lightweight glove liners. I'd probably have available to pack depending on the weather and activities a puffy vest or a puffy jacket if you are cold natured. Waterproof rain pants/trousers. Waterproof shoes. My new addition is a ball cap to wear under my rain jacket hood to keep the rain off my face. I am not normally a ball cap person but this has worked out well for Scotland's windy rain.

For the rest of your clothing, I'd have SS shirts, 1 long sleeve shirt and 1 or 2 long sleeve toppers - cardigans or quarter zip Dri-fit shirts that pack down smaller than a cardie. I'd have long pants,probably no need for capris. I'm not a dress wearer so they are not on my packing list.

Virtually anything is possible. And ten minutes later it could change again. Take layers.

Thanks so much for all of your quick and mostly very useful replies! One other one is, after buying collapsible hiking poles that will fit in carry on, I hear that the airlines don’t allow hiking poles in carry on. Any ideas on that? Thanks friends!

In a wind driven rain, light raincoat and rain pants will probably fail. We got caught in that two years ago, and my waterproof shoes kept the water in instead of out. That's when you spend time in a cozy pub or museum while your shoes dry out.

One other one is, after buying collapsible hiking poles that will fit in carry on, I hear that the airlines don’t allow hiking poles in carry on. Any ideas on that?

Well, technically they're not allowed by the TSA, but some travelers have managed to get them through. It really depends on the TSA agent. BUT if you try that, you run a big risk because if they're disallowed, you either have to check the bag or leave them behind.

My solution is to check a bag. That way you can bring your hiking poles without fear of having them confiscated.

Scotland Weather in September: With autumn on the way, early September is typically comfortably warm, but things will begin to change soon. The average high temperature drops three degrees to 16°C and there are likely to be more rainy days with 80mm of precipitation on average over 20 days this month. Wow!!!

Western Scotland tends to be extremely rainy, to the point that it might affect your interest in outdoor activities if you haven't packed full-on rain gear (including rain pants). The eastern part of the country isn't as wet, on average, but it's likely to be a bit cooler.

On a trip of which 26 July days in Scotland was just a small part (so I wasn't willing to take rain pants), I managed to survive with merino wool long johns, semi-rain-shedding 97% nylon pants from PrAna, a light- to mid-weight fleece jacket and a waterproof rainjacket. I also had a light, packable puffer jacket with me, but I'm not sure I ever wore it. But I had two days in the west (one on Skye, one on Mull) when the rain made me pretty miserable. There were outdoor things I wanted to do that I didn't attempt because of the rain, but I am a weather wimp.

Any rain I encountered in eastern places like Edinburgh and Dundee was light and intermittent enough (rather like what I've expereienced in London) that it didn't affect my sightseeing activities.

Ah, Scotland! It's always raining in Scotland even when it's not raining. The weather goes from pessimistic all the way to despair! The family and I spent a good chunk of a July in Scotland and it was lovely! I think we once even saw the sun when we were walking up the devil's staircase on the west highland way somewhere around Fort Williams if I recall. When I asked a local if the weather in July is always so dreary, he replied "sometimes it's worse."

I expect September will be better but better is not really better since the landscape is perfectly paired with the mercurial weather.

Only one thing I know for sure and that is you'll have a great trip!

Happy travels.

As Billy Connolly said, “there are two seasons in Scotland, June and winter”. Trouble is so far this June is continuing the winter trend at least in Skye. Nobody knows what the weather will be like in September, except that it will be changeable, will probably rain, is likely to be windy in the west and it could snow on top of the mountains. Bring windproof and waterproof layers and be prepared to get out and about and enjoy it. The one thing you won’t need is an umbrella. Completely useless in the wind here.

Well, last Sept we got incredibly lucky - as the owner of our hotel in Portree said "we are having a heat wave"! Bright, sunny days for 99% of our 11 day trip from Edinburgh to Isle of Skye. We only had a couple showers - loved it so much we are returning the first of Sept this year too, so fingers crossed. I think we used the umbrellas one time. Good luck to us both.

Just pack clothes that you can layer when the weather changes, and it will do that frequently. For my three week September trip I was glad to have my gortex jacket with the zip in fleece lining. The weather ran the gamut from still late summer to late fall. At times there was heavy rain, to a light, constant misty rain, to nice warm sunny days. So just be prepared for everything.