Best time of year to visit Scotland

[Hirsty]

I may be a masochist but my favourite time of year is middle of winter. Nothing beats seeing the lights of a top boozer like The Three Judge, the Anderson, Jolly Judge, Bow Bar, Halfway House, etc on a cold, dreich night and knowing that there will be guid beer, whisky, and chat in there.

[Tomo]

Any other recommendations ?

In terms of distilleries - if you are heading to Skye a side trip to Raasay is worthwhile - great to see how one of the newer distilleries is looking to add some 'maturity' into the process. Torabhaig (another newbie on Skye) has adopted a different method - and it's quite easy to do both (for the sake of comparison, of course) - and maybe throw in a trip to Carbost and the old stager Talisker, if you fancy something more traditional.

In other terms, I love visiting Kilmartin Glen (so much to see) and easy enough to include if you are heading to Isaly, Kintyre, Cambeltown or Oban.

[Hirsty]

Strathearn distillery is well worth a visit. Ken and Craig are excellent distillers.

[SF Jeff]

I've been twice - mid April and mid September. By my standards (YMMV), we had great weather both times. On the April trip, we hit Ben Nevis on a perfectly warm and clear spring day and inquired at the visitor center about climbing it. "Do it!" was the reply. "We rarely get weather this nice!" so we hiked up the trail on the backside to the summit. Spectacular views.

Headed to Skye the next day and drove past the north face and it was all socked in with clouds and rain, couldn't even see the summit. Perfect timing on that one.

[OC Richard]

This is a handy list (I can't vouch for its accuracy) https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/scotland/festivals

One thing to be aware of is that many tourist attractions (castles, museums, etc) have limited hours and/or are only open certain days of the week during the offseason.

I know people who live in Edinburgh hate Festival season, and if you don't like crowds it's to be avoided, however there's a unique vibe to the city at that time. (People who live in New Orleans feel the same about Mardi Gras.)

YouTube is great because there are videos of people doing all the various "walks" which will aid in putting together a schedule if walking is your thing. My wife and I have been going through these in planning our next Britain holiday which will primarily consists of walks.

But it's always wise to have a Plan B if weather is horrid.

And you'll want a rainproof (not "rain resistant") jacket with hood, or anorak as the Brits say.

And one of those umbrellas that folds up really small, because you'll likely be taking it with you wherever you go.

And waterproof shoes. I dislike cheap vinyl athletic shoes because they bake your feet in California sun but they're brilliant in the UK. (Here we wear mesh breathable trainers which keep your feet cool but are worthless for walking in the mud and/or rain.)

[Tomo]

A couple of decent, moderately challenging, 1/2 half day hikes in the Glen Coe / Ness Gorge area we usually do are the Hidden or Lost Valley, Coire Gabhail(about 3 hrs from the three sisters view point - maybe take some sort of watersport shoes as you will need to wade across the burn - although I normally do it barefoot) and Steal Falls (about 4 hrs from the lower falls car park - but go over the hill not up and down the road, more challenging and you get to use the rope bridge. it's about thigh deep if you want to wade here). Grab some lunch at Loch Leven Seafood Cafe...