Will it just be an absolute midgefest?
And am I better off touring around the Netherlands instead?
Gonna have a couple of weeks off and take my Vaya somewhere, just undecided on where.

Maybe
Maybe

(fwiw, I spend all summer in Scotland, much of it in the north and some of it on the islands (about 20 days on Skye, Harris, Lewis last summer) and I’ve never really had a problem with midges, other than mild irritation when I’m trying to light a fire and forget to put smidge on)

Go for it. Any breeze or direct sunlight will keep them at bay. Take Smidge for backup. We holidayed in Lewis and Uist last year, had some stunning weather and not a midge to be seen.

West coast of Scotland in June?
I wouldn’t, but many do.

Edit: I once spent a few days on Rum in June with the worst midges I’ve ever known. The tourist story is that the workers who built the castle their got a special tobacco ration to keep the blighted at bay.

Some of the islands are lifted and moved along by the sheer number of midges. A bit like the peach in James and the Giant Peach, but without the trippy qualities.

A fun bivvy I had on arran in August when I forgot my midge head net.

Fortunately my Ray Mears gene kicked in and I scrubbed my face with bog myrtle and chucked some on the stove.

May is the best compromise between midges and bad weather.
June is starting to get nasty.
We sent some people up in August but they never came back.

Can we start posting photos now?
[url=https://flic.kr/p/opiX2y]Dawn. North Uist bivvy.[/url] by ScotRoutes, on Flickr

Plan for the worst ,then enjoy it even more,when there are no Midge.

BTW…Midge love me,they will fly past hundreds of folk ,just to bite me. 😥

id be more concerned about weather when i go north west – total lottery, further west, more exposed to the atlantic you go, the great chance of a ‘breeze’ that keeps the wee turds grounded. and june might be just be early enough to miss the worst part of the season for midges in my experience. i just need to think back to knoydart in august – truly amazing place with truly insane local flying lady insects.

I’ve never been to Shetland but on Orkney I’ve never really been bothered with midges

Having lived in Glencoe for a year midges do not bother me in the slightest. Hebrides will be fine in June so long as there is a gentle breeze.

Will it just be an absolute midgefest?

Take someone with you who has black hair and wears black clothes