Scotland better in July or Aug/Sept?
 

Planning a trip to Scotland this summer. Can either go two weeks in mid July or the last week in August/first week September. Plan to fly into Inverness and out of Edinburgh. Will be driving the north country, visiting Skye, Mull and then Edinburgh. Was wondering if people thought mid summer is better or late summer? We like scenery, hiking, walking, beaches, meeting new people. We want to visit some castles and taste some whiskey.

Thanks

I think I'd plump for the July dates, in the hope that it may not rain. But this is Scotland and there's no telling. The one upside is that the rain in July should be a bit warmer than September. Having said that, I've had an almost tropical week in Scotland in late June when the beaches on Iona looked like the Caribbean.

Provided you don't arrive in Edinburgh until the festival has finished (which would be the case once you're into September), I would opt for the second choice of dates.

The weather (and the midges in the Highlands) are always unpredictable, but - based purely on personal experience - July can so often seem to be overcast, showery and rather muggy, and with kids on school holidays roads and popular tourist attractions can be at their busiest. I much prefer May/June and September.

If you can find affordeable accomodation (which is admittedly tricky) then I would not be put off going in the last week of August, as the Fringe festival is amazing and definitely something worth seeing. I think the crowds are an overstated issue btw, it is only the cost of accomodation that is a possible red flag.

Mid July will be school holiday season in Scotland, so won't be hugely more affordeable than August tbh. I agree with Gordon in that if you have more flexibility and no interest in Fringe then June would be much better .

I too would go later.

There are lots of threads on this board covering routes and destinations in Scotland; a short search will leave you enlightened and/or confused. ;-)

There's no "e" in Scotch whisky.

Why would you go to Scotland and taste whiskey? Good gosh. Get the native stuff instead.

As Gardyloo notes: Scots don't make whiskey.

When I go to Scotland, I bring my whisky with me. Single malts are about half the price in Hamburg than they are in Scotland.

My husband does the drinking, not me and he would probably laugh at my description too. I only drink wine, so I don't think I will be doing too many tastings of anything in Scotland. Will have to wait for my next trip to a warmer climate. As we will be doing a lot of driving there will not be too much drinking anyway unless we buy some for our B & B adventures.

You will find fruit wines in Scotland - some of them are very good...
http://www.cairnomohr.com/
http://www.highlandwineries.co.uk/

Sberg: "My husband does the drinking, not me and he would probably laugh at my description too. I only drink wine, so I don't think I will be doing too many tastings of anything in Scotland."

BigRuss' comment was because you posted whiskey -- which is American or Irish stuff. Scotch (whether single malt or blended) is just Whisky . . . (no 'e')

My very favorite times in Scotland are mid May through June, and September. Though you can have a great trip any time.

Going off topic a bit, while I'm more a Bourbon man than Scotch man, I love the history of Scotch being made exclusively in used Bourbon oak barrels. It's such a great story of brother-hood between the US and Scotland. One can only imagine what Scotch tasted like pre-1930s ... or maybe someone on here has personal experience with that. ;)

"I love the history of Scotch being made exclusively in used Bourbon oak barrels"

Predominantly but not 'exclusively'. Some other types are used -- mainly Sherry barrels.

Yes, good catch on my loose use of words ... should have said almost exclusively. It's still an interesting history.