Wearing a Kilt while Touring Scotland?

[cessna152towser]

How is the weather there in July though? We are heading off in 2 weeks now... Will I need to worry about stiff breezes? (do I need to bring a heavy kilt pin ? We'll be on the Western Isles, Glasgow, Edinburgh, then cutting across the Highlands to Skye)

Long range forecast is for the Azores High (anticyclone) to reach to the British Isles for most or possibly the whole of July with pleasant sunny weather. Temperatures in Edinburgh or Glasgow will probably peak around 20 to 23 centigrade (68 to 73 fahrenheit). Be aware though Scotland will be close to the edge of the high pressure system so the further north and west you go, Skye and the Western Isles for example, there is more likelihood of breezier weather with some rain showers. At least if you have some wind and rain the midges will be less troublesome. They have been biting like mad this past few days. Avon Skin-so-soft makes a good repellant but you need to re-apply it every hour or so.

[Manxstralian]

I was going to mention the Midges too, I was in Mull last summer, and although they don't bite me, everyone else I was with had an awful time with them. The Hostel in Tobermory is the only place I saw the Avon cream for sale, but I'm sure it's readily available. The only other thing that I noticed about the weather was that due to the lack of trees (for the most part), if you're in the sun, you will get tanned/ burned. Also, watch out for windburn if you're getting ferrys around.

I'm not sure how much time you will have, but if you can I would recommend (besides a big Plus One for the Craignure Pub) oysters at the Ulva Boathouse, and the "new" pub in Tobermory (near the distillery) has good food and approximately 100 single malts on offer.
Good luck with your trip to the castle, hopefully Sir Lachlan is there when you arrive! Perhaps if you have time, take the (beautiful) drive down to Lochbuie as well?

[Stoo]

I say wear it and be proud, but be careful about the sgian dubh, knives of anynsortbare frowned upon in the uk, I'm surprised waiters don't cut up our meat for us in case we handle a steak knife in the wrong way.

Have fun, smile and you will have a great time in a great country. The scots I've met love to see the kilt wether they wear one or not.

[TheOfficialBren]

Regarding midges here is a brief but interesting artical:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_midge

[tpa]

2. Must go to Kilt Shops? I'm looking for a unique sporran - Something without tassles. I'm not a fan of the noise the tassles make.
Thanks much! and will post some photos once I return!

Know what you mean regarding the sporran, took the tassles off one of my day sporrans.

Found this on ebay.co.uk at £20.99; search on the title below:
New Black Leather Celtic Knot Sporran for Scottish Tartan Kilt with Chain Belt

you could have it sent to your first port of call.

[fingertrouble]

Well, as someone who lives in the UK, and partner is Scottish with friends up in Aberdeen too, and been to Scotland a few times, it's really rare for Scots to wear a kilt unless it's a wedding or official occasion and then unless they have a family kilt they hire one. My partner born and bred til 7 in Strathaven, a Lindsay, who grew up in South Africa hadn't worn a kilt until I insisted at my Dad's wedding a few years back - over 60 years! Certainly outside a special event, not seen any kilts up in the Highlands - probably cos of one word: MIDGES. I went to Western Isles last year during August/Sept and the now legendary '2nd wave of midges' and it wasn't fun...I'm glad I could tuck my trousers into my socks! Even with Deet type spray and even a net it got bad in places, like South Uist.

Kilts are getting more common in London though, partly because the likes of me but also on weekends or special occasions like Pride you always get a few kilted people, trad or less trad. It's seen as a fun thing.

But if you've got a family tartan I'd wear it! I get enough conversations with my plain one, I think a family one in Scotland could find a few members of your clan...I have thought of taking mine, but given the weight and camping (I don't have a Ultilikilt or a light kilt, I'd love to have one in fact) and not wanting to get it messed up, I didn't take it. Given the midge attack, I'm glad! But hopefully this year the midges haven't had a second 'party' - it was due to a very unusually good early summer - but you might want to take some Avon SkinSoSoft anyway if you're going down to the Lochs or boggy places!

[fingertrouble]

I was going to mention the Midges too, I was in Mull last summer, and although they don't bite me, everyone else I was with had an awful time with them. The Hostel in Tobermory is the only place I saw the Avon cream for sale, but I'm sure it's readily available.

Should have read all the thread before posting! Yes at the same time I was walking in Berneray/North Uist/South Uist/Barra etc. and I had really bad midge attacks, especially the first night on Skye camping and trying too cook (fail!) and then the weather was so bad I just youth-hosteled the rest of the time, and was put off by the midges which were bad in South Uist particularly. I tended to stick to the coast as a result!

I wish I'd had some Skin So Soft - it was found by accident to be a repellent, and now the forces use it (oh they smell so nice and such lovely skin! LOL)

[fingertrouble]

Some more questions:
1. How is the weather there in July though? We are heading off in 2 weeks now... Will I need to worry about stiff breezes? (do I need to bring a heavy kilt pin ? We'll be on the Western Isles, Glasgow, Edinburgh, then cutting across the Highlands to Skye)

2. Must go to Kilt Shops? I'm looking for a unique sporran - Something without tassles. I'm not a fan of the noise the tassles make. I'll have more time in Glasgow and have a cousin who lives there so she could direct me - maybe. Not much time in Edinburgh this time around but will be in Skye for a day or two, Oban for a day, and Tobermoray for a few days.

Thanks much! and will post some photos once I return!

I went to Western Isles and Skye August/Sept last year - going over via CalMac (it was just CalMac then - no more I hear?) from Skye and then back via Oban past Tobermory (EXCELLENT Whiskey btw, I have a bottle still at home). I also did Harris and Lewis in 2006, Glasgow and Edinburgh and Inverness too many times to count - and stayed in Ullapool which has a crazily good music scene) and a trip around Skye during September 2001. Yes exactly that date, 9/11 I was on the bus to Portree...and glad to be heading away from civilisation!

The weather? Well not so much on the Western Isles, but as others have said - expect all four seasons in one day. The weather on Skye is like a cycle - if it's raining, no bad, you'll get bright sunshine within the hour. No lie...I called it 'Weather On Shuffle' after the iPod/player thing...because it really just shuffles through all variants. It's because of the gulf stream, parts get warm waters which causes a sort of semi-tropical weather bubble or something (so Summerisle in the Wicker Man having palms and apple trees was not a complete fantasy) - so it can be blisteringly hot, then chuck it down for a bit, then dry you off with some cloud and wind, then back to the hot. In about 1-2 hours.

Other parts of Scotland will if it's going to be bad, pish it down all day, and Western Isles as I found could be bad for that and it's 40 mph wind. Bright sunshine (I must finish editing the pics and put them up, btw) amazing white beaches, looks really stunning in pictures - what's not shown is that your trousers are trying to take off jet-style from your ankles! Watching prop aircraft land on Barra beach in this is amazing...apparently they don't stop landing until it hits 70-80!

Lewis if you're going there will be probably nice, I fondly remember taking the bus to Callanish and also the infamous Butt of Lewis and watching the seals play in the waves! Harris will probably rain but if it stops at sunset: *go immediately outside taking cameras* - I mean it, you get amazing sunsets out there, like what you'd never believe, especially after rain. Bright brilliant reds. But any of the Isles, the light on the water and the sunsets are brilliant, however horrible the weather (although if it's really bad you won't see anything at all!)

Oban - check out the live music scene, apparently very good, there's a group called Skipinnish who are very famous, and have branched out into Whiskey, tshirts, events, etc etc but they have a venue there, and if it's anything as good as the CDs I bought back (as well as the Peat Bog Faeries - Kroftwork which is like a dub/funk/ceilidh hybrid!) it'll be good.

If you're on Catholic parts of the Isles (South Uist, Barra) go to a pub or hotel bar after Church on Sunday - lunchtimish - you'll hear amazing music most likely from old men glugging whiskey like water. On Harris, Lewis & North Uist, they are far more dour - no pubs, although you can drink in hotels, and they frown at you if you go walking on a Sunday (no lie!) and chain up the swings (again, seen it...). But the classic 'get together and play music and drink loads' does seem to happen in the southern islands, of an evening, but they ALL seem to come out on a Sunday - the old timers. Apparently the church is worth going to on Harris/Lewis though for the plainsong. No organs or instruments, only quite ancient chanting which is nothing like the mainland? Not being a religious sort I didn't go, but kinda wished I did after hearing about that...I found in Addis Ababa Cathedral in Ethiopia that the plain human voice incantations in a service is an amazing sound.

Oh and on the Western Isles everyone seems to eat early - rare to get served past 8pm, so don't expect food to be on at normal UK/US times, ie. until about 10pm. This caught me out a few times, even the hotels don't book past 7 or 8pm...the pubs open late though, but again check the last food serving time...even on Skye which is more like the mainland it was 9:15pm hence the disastrous cooking experiment :-(

Glasgow is fun, lively, and great art there (and my partner was born in Sauciehall St)...Edinburgh I always thought was a bit up itself, never really liked it. Probably good for kilt shops and outfitters though, has loads but so does Oban, although probably not as much. Strangely there aren't any kilt shops on the Isles, and only one supermarket chain - Co-Op which thankfully sells alcohol, but not local Hebrides/Highlands whiskey. Yes, in the home of Whiskey, you can't actually go to a shop and buy some...some tourist shops might, but no such thing as an off-license on the Isles. Skye has a Tesco opening I hear, or it's already opened? And as it's connected has more shops/stuff.

If you're going walking, and not doing Cullens style moutaineering, try the Quirang. It's a small mountain with a road over it, sheep - not all surviving, and the loneliest remains of a hamlet on the earth at the top. I walked over one afternoon - night and was entranced...also the Maclean (?) Castle at Dunvegan is well worth visiting. If you stay at the MacDonald's Hotel in Portree say hi from me. He'll probably remember me, the bloke that arrived late at night then went to the local Chinese with him and stayed for one night (my real name is Tim) - the guy I think is called Hamish unsurprisingly enough - was great.

Oh and don't go to Barra after 1st September. It closes. I'm not joking, their season just stops dead on the 1st, and many things close. The hotels and Castle stay open, but you might get a bit bored there with just that and hotel bar drinking/eating as entertainment...I did!

[Riverkilt]

Have yet to make it to Scotland but if I do for sure won't stop wearing kilts to visit the home of the kilt. Main reason, comfort....long flights are best made in kilts - as are long drives. No problem with wind...guess I'd find out about midges. Just makes no sense to abandon kilt wearing to visit the homeland of the kilt.

[adempsey10]

A Scottish female friend of my wife once saw a picture of me on Facebook wearing my kilt and complimented me for how handsome I looked. I now feel confident wearing my kilt pretty much anywhere.

If the girls dig it, nothing else matters, especially if they're red headed Scottish girls.