Hi all, I'm more than a little anxious that I made a terrible mistake in booking a trip for me and a friend to Scotland for the last week in October into first days of November due to the weather. I figured the weather wouldn't be ideal but neither of us is afraid of getting wet and the biggest challenge seemed to be less daylight. Since booking though, I'm reading more and more and it seems like the rain is so bad in October that there could be days that we can't even go out of the hotel, which of course would be really problematic since we'll need to drive to other places. My friend is only available for vacation in October and then end of April. I'd hate to wait nearly a year for a trip. Plus it will cost me about $175 per person (I'd pay for both) to change the booking. My friend says that we should do whatever I think is best. My hope is that I can rely on the forum to answer that question...
Thanks so much,
-Anita

No-one can tell you what the weather will be like, even in summer. If you want to see a place, and have a limited travel window, then you've just got to take that chance.

You don't say whether you are based in a city or more rural area. Can you not pick a variety of wet weather alternatives to slot in if its too rainy to enjoy the countryside (eg stately homes, distilleries, city art galleries, tea rooms, shopping etc).

Can you change your bookings to another place? Spain or Italy should have decent weather at that time.

Btw, I actually quite like being outside in the rain - think a dramatic landscape can seem very atmospheric in bad weather.....

Btw, I quite like being in the countryside in the rain. A dramatic landscape can be very atmospheric in bad weather....

Oh, ffs, sort the website out......

It is June now and the rain s pretty terrible. There is no way of knowing what the weather will be. Why will rain stop you leaving your hotel? Especially if you have a car?
Yes you will have less daylight then, and you could have rain but equally you could have glorious late autumn days.

There is no way of knowing what the weather will be like - and it could be just as bad if not worse in April tbh.
Just pack waterproofs and enjoy Scotland.

Okay going by averages Edinburgh in the East gets about a third less rain than New York City in October and on average is about 3c cooler, Glasgow is about ten percent wetter than NYC and just a little cooler than Edinburgh. The Western Highlands are likely to be a little wetter than Glasgow and a little cooler. Fife and the East Coast are likely to be a little drier than Edinburgh. Weather averages seem to put us somewhere similar to Vancouver or Seattle.

You won't experience monsoon conditions and except in the most extreme circumstances you should be able to get out and about in the same way you would in NW USA or SW Canada. The lack of daylight is likely to be a bigger issue. April is generally drier but can still be cold. It has the advantage of being after the clocks go forward so days are longer and lengthening.

Bear in mind our weather can be very changeable so talk of averages isn't always a great help.

Thank you for the very quick replies. We plan to spend three nights in Edinburgh and haven't really planned the rest, but wanted to go to one of the islands and see some of the highlands and my friend really wants to see castles. We have 8 days total. Thanks again.

First of all - there is no reason to think that there will be less rain in April than in Oct. (We were there in July and ran into one day with heavy rain, temps inthe 40s and high winds - and ended up wearing 5 layers and still felt cold.)

Second - although many days are grey or rainy - it is often mist or drizzle and shouldn;t interfere with what you are doing. (NYC may have more rain but I'm sure has many more sunny days. Our rain tends to heavier - more concentrated in fewer days. Oct weather is usually beautiful - cool and crisp.) In Scotland you can certainly get days of heavy downpours but that is not the usual.

I would simply go ahead, being sure you have a sturdy folding umbrella, rain jacket and waterproof walking shoes.

I was only there in August so I can't comment on what it would likely be like at the dates you chose, but I don't dismiss your concerns. No way would I want to take a vacation to a place where it would be pouring rain a lot of the time and even when I am at home, I avoid driving when it is raining very hard as it is dangerous. Besides, where would you be going if it were raining all day that you would want to go to in that weather, nothing outdoors or touring the countryside, that's for sure. What one might tolerate at home (and, as I said, I will avoid driving in heavy rain at home, there are lots of traffic incidents as such times) isn't what you want on vacation when you are spending a lot of money to go there (not even just in terms of the airfare and hotels, but possibly using up your vacation time if you have a job).

So if it really likely is going to rain a lot, I wouldn't go. And there are actual weather statistics that give you a likely idea of what the weather may be like, it isn't really totally unpredictable.

No one goes to Scotland for the weather. ;-) Check out this Met Office website which shows rainfall and other climate information: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/es/. It shows that rainfall in Eastern Scotland (e.g. Edinburgh) is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. Western and Northern Scotland have a more marked difference, with autumn and winter being the wettest months.

That Met Office website is really great, though it definitely didn't ease my mind for either the east or west coast. My thought was that we'd deal with the lack of daylight by being up and out exceptionally early. We do have good gear, having travelled to Alaska last Spring. We live in Queens NY so we're used to grey wet winters, but if it's pouring here we would go to something indoors. I'd expect that Edinburgh has a substantial bit to do indoors, but what about traveling in the highlands, like around Ullapool and the Isle of Skye?

Christina: "<i>I don't dismiss your concerns. No way would I want to take a vacation to a place where it would be pouring rain a lot of the time and even when I am at home, I avoid driving when it is raining very hard as it is dangerous. Besides, where would you be going if it were raining all day that you would want to go to in that weather, nothing outdoors or touring the countryside, that's for sure.</i>"

W/ all due respect --there is <u>absolutely</u> no way to know if it will be raining at all let alone the whole time. And sorry, but weather statistics mean NOTHING in the UK.

I just returned from nearly a month there mid May to 9 June) and had everything from 40F and sleet to 82F and near heat stroke. (w/i 4 days of each other BTW) So would you have someone not travel to Scotland in May because there might be bad weather???

In November, the weather can be just as bad or just as good in any part of Europe as it is in Scotland.

Anita9878: You haven't made a 'terrible mistake'. You could have nasty weather,you could have lovely weather (and probably will have both at some time during your trip). You won't melt in the rain. If driving in rain worries you-- then don't. Use the train/buses.

we were posting at the same time.

How would you feel if you DO change the bookings, and April ends up pretty horrible (like it was this year)?

Anita9876--My wife and I will be there toward late October, as will I'm sure many other tourists. We're hoping for the best. We travel a bit and really like the adventure. The alternative is to go to Epcot at Disney and get your passport stamped there (just kidding). You could always stay in a castle and play twister.

Not visiting Scotland because it might rain is like not going to a Cubs game because they might lose.

Of course it will rain. Then it will be sunny, then it will be windy, then it will be cloudy, then misty, then raining again. Then in the second hour, it will be different.

You'll probably be lucky and have stunning autumn colo(u)r in some countryside areas - yellow leaves still on the trees, brown and purple heather covering the land, blue streams and lochs... So you get wet and need to go into a village pub for warmth and respite. How hard is that?

Seems to me you need to do a bit more itinerary sharpening. Edinburgh to one of the most visited islands - usually one of the inner Hebrides like Skye or Mull - takes a full day in transit, and days will be short. If you stay in the eastern half of the country (Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife, etc.) the chances are better of dry conditions, since most of the moisture comes off the Atlantic, and loses some of its punch by the time it's crossed the country. There are plenty of castles in the east (more, in fact, than in the west) and plenty to see in the days when you're not in Edinburgh.

You'll be fine.

Hi Anita,

I wasn't really trying to ease your mind, just give you a realistic idea of what you might expect. The western side of Scotland and northern England get the full brunt of Atlantic weather systems, and are wetter than the east. Janisj is right, though — you can't predict what will actually happen with the weather while you are there. In a September trip to the highlands I got sunburn. Right now, in the driest time of year, northern England is recovering from floods: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18564518

Wow that flood seems terrible. I hope no one was injured. I'm getting the overwhelming message that Scotland weather is unpredictable. You're right janisj, I would feel really foolish if we put off the trip, incurred the fees and the weather was extraordinarily poor in April. The colorful foliage sounds really pretty. As to changing my itinerary toward the east side. I guess my itinerary leans more toward the standard "guidebook" itineraries. Are there any specific places on the east that you'd recommend? I know there's St. Andrews and I also read about this Enchanted Forest in Pitolchry which sounded interesting, but I didn't really look into because I didn't plan on us being near to there.

Just a quick comment - more later.

Yes, there are TONS of things on the east side. You mention castles -- in fact the 'official' <i>Castle Trail</i> is on the east side. There are castles in every corner of Scotland, but Between Glamis, Dunnottar and the Castle Trail there are more castles than you could see in a month let alone 8 days. (Not even counting Edinburgh and Stirling castles)