midges in Lake District?
 

Hi. I am going to Lake Windermere on 16th September this year for a holiday staying in a lodge. Will there be a lot of midgy things and flies like Scotland.

I've not met any there but it very much depends on weather conditions. <BR>Sorry to be a pedantic old fart but "mere" means lake so it's just Windermere. "Lake Windermere" would mean Lake Winderlake.<BR>It's the same with Ullswater, it's just Ullswater not Lake Ullswater.

Just topping. Forgot to say that the Lake District is in England. Shall I need bug spray???

Sorry, I didn't know that about the Lake thingy. This is a serious question though as I hate bugs

Topping again looking for answer

Laura, the amount of bugs depend on the weather, humidity, etc. Therefore one can never tell and only speak from experience for a specific time period, but even that won't be accurate as the weather changes. Why not just be safe and take an assortment of bug sprays and antirepellant lotions. Don't use soaps that have scents in them beforehand. You're best using an antibacterial soap like Dial or Ivory.

Don't feel bad Laura, I did not know that myself.<BR>One must be aged to know.

I have walked in the Lake District in May and October and I have never heard of Lake District midges being a problem on the same scales as Scotland. Even if there are some, mid-September would be pretty late in the season. You might get some info at the uk.rec.walking news group - either do a search or ask the question. In case you are unfamiliar with news groups, they can be accessed via: http://groups.google.com/

Sorry aged@pedant, whether or not "mere" means lake, Laura was quite correct in saying *Lake* Windermere. That IS what it is called. You also have Windermere the town, Bowness the town, Ambleside the town, to mention a few, all located in different sections of Lake Windermere. If you are still the Doubting Thomas, Aged, plug "Windermere" into any search engine. You'll undoubtedly be interested in any number of the websites that come up talking about "Lake" Windermere, and written, one would assume, by the businesses that populate that area! <BR><BR>Laura, we did a lot of hiking all through this area in June and had absolutely no problem with bugs. Of course that's not to say you won't encounter them in September, but at least in June it was bug-free. It was spectacularly beautiful scenery by the way. Hope you have a super trip and do hike, even if only the shorter routes!

To be a repetitive pedant, aged was absolutely right. Ain't no Lake in Windermere.<BR><BR>Ain't no town called Windermere either. There IS one called Bowness on Windermere.<BR><BR>Don't believe the web. It comes from the dark side!!

OK, so now that we've got the "mere" thing down... what the heck is a midge?

midges are sort of "no see ums" like gnats - and evil little buggers they are too. They are really tiny and swarn and BITE. But I can't ever remember being bothered by midges as late as Sept. They seem to be the worst late June to early Aug. Warmish, humid weather seems to bring them out.