West Highland Way - What time of Year?

May is the best month in Scotland. Midges not out in force yet and weather could be good

You do realise that folk not only visit Scotland all year, but that some folk actually live there and somehow survive without imprisoning themselves for 6 months?

I live on the East coast and never really see midges but Perthshire then up the west if the midges don't get you their Begbie natured cousins the clegs will get you

One loves the sunshine and the other calm ,clammy windfree days and especially evening time

You've missed the best time as it's been great this past wee while touch of frost in the morning and full frontal sunshine and blue skies here on the East

We have had holidays in Scotland for years. We have been camping and staying in cottages. We have been to the west coast , the Cairngorms, Orkney and Shetland.

Midges have never been a serious issue.

I have a midge jacket and hood that I have never worn.

I’d be more worried about ticks than midges - you rarely get bitten by midges before the end of May unless it’s been unseasonably warm. Late April into May is often the best period for weather in these parts, but the last 10 days have been glorious - blue skies and very little wind.

Posted by: Bruce

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Midges have never been a serious issue.

Er...

We did it in May

Was plenty of midges about in some areas 

Go before the 15th May or after 1st September into autumn, to avoid the midges, which can indeed be absolutely horrific.  High summer also means many more people; now would be a great time, if you don't mind taking a bit of a gamble on the weather but as others have said, it's been a very bright, dry late winter so far.  Some folk do it in every month of the year and certainly when I was riding Lomondside in early Feb, there were lots of pack carriers on the trail.

Are you biking, running or walking, camping or using hotels/hostels etc?

Are 

Haven't decided on walking or running it yet. If I walk I'll take a backpack and Wild camp more often, If I run I'll do the bag drop thingy and hotel/hostel it perhaps. Think I'd rather take my time and walk it TBH. 

May would be best. But it's worth bearing in mind if you're walking it that it's pretty dull - most of the tracks aren't interesting walking and you'll spend days trudging towards the horizon. 

I rode it in a day and that felt like as much time as you'd want to be on it. Five days walking some of the mountains round there would be amazing but five days schlepping along valley bottoms on land rover tracks less so. 

Best to do it before the end of May Fort William has also been bright and sunny for a week or so now  Midge net and smidge will help.  If you are going to do the WHW in summer and are really worried about midges don't camp Midges are generally worse in the morning and evening not so bad in the middle of the day 

Most of my many Scotland trips over the years have been in May or September, overall we have been lucky with the weather. I dont worry about midges 

I live in the west of Scotland. WHW best done after Easter and before the end of May. Some midges, ticks & clegs will be around but they get far worse as the summer progresses. Smidge for skin, permethrin spray for socks, gaiters & boots and a midge hood for your head all advisable.

Did it a few years ago at the beginning of May.

1 wet day, perfect the rest of the time. Not 1 midge.

Swam in the river at the Kingshouse.

I did it at the end of August (by bike) a few years back.  Didn't cross my mind to schedule it depending on the state of midges, ticks etc, just had a decent weather window and a free couple of days.

Slow-moving targets are easier for midges to track anyway, so just move quickly and you'll be fine. HTH

You do realise that folk not only visit Scotland all year, but that some folk actually live there and somehow survive without imprisoning themselves for 6 months?

......Begbie natured cousins.....

Still chuckling at that one, thanks redmex, will have to start using that.

We did it in early April 2 years ago  over 48 hours  . Really dodged a bullet . Like today warmish sunny dry and no wind over Rannoch moor . And not a wee bitey critter in sight.