FAO Alison

[trucker]

Hi Alison, I see you live near Oban and I also read that the miggies are really bad. Were going to CC site at Bunree 3rd week in August.

Is it as bad as I read or not

thanks

Kevin

 

[Alison_374398168]

Hi Kevin,

Yes the midges are bad. Some years worse than others. Since we are having a cold winter you might find that this summer might not be too bad. The spores get killed off if it is a particullary cold winter.

A lot of people who live and work locally (including the forestry commisiion) use a product by Avon called "skin so soft" the midges hate it and although you can still see and hear them buzzing around you they wont bite. You can buy products with DEET in them from any chemist, but they are expensive and full of chemicals, so we find the skin so soft the best option if you want to protect your skin.

Also by August they will be dying off - the worst time of year we find is early summer May/June and early July apparently they breed early in the summer and are at their most ferocious then.

They should only be out from around 5pm onwards so if you want to sit out at night then a couple of citronella burners work well in the awning. A farmer friend of ours uses bog myrtle which grows all over the west of scotland and a couple of bunches of that in the awning and I have never seen anything like it for clearing the midges away - but unless you can find somebody to tell you what you are looking for I would stick with the citronella candle.

Anyway, dont let the midges put you off, you have picked the best time of year to come, the schools will be back by the middle of August, you might get some rain, but you can expect that anywhere and you will have a great time.

Hope this is helpful - best wishes and have a lovely holiday.

Alison

 

[tigger2]

Hi

We're going to the CC site Bunree the 3rd week of August too!

We have already got the stuff from Avon so hope it works.

Might see you there.

Tigger

 

[tigger2]

Hi Kevin,

Yes the midges are bad. Some years worse than others. Since we are having a cold winter you might find that this summer might not be too bad. The spores get killed off if it is a particullary cold winter.

A lot of people who live and work locally (including the forestry commisiion) use a product by Avon called "skin so soft" the midges hate it and although you can still see and hear them buzzing around you they wont bite. You can buy products with DEET in them from any chemist, but they are expensive and full of chemicals, so we find the skin so soft the best option if you want to protect your skin.

Also by August they will be dying off - the worst time of year we find is early summer May/June and early July apparently they breed early in the summer and are at their most ferocious then.

They should only be out from around 5pm onwards so if you want to sit out at night then a couple of citronella burners work well in the awning. A farmer friend of ours uses bog myrtle which grows all over the west of scotland and a couple of bunches of that in the awning and I have never seen anything like it for clearing the midges away - but unless you can find somebody to tell you what you are looking for I would stick with the citronella candle.

Anyway, dont let the midges put you off, you have picked the best time of year to come, the schools will be back by the middle of August, you might get some rain, but you can expect that anywhere and you will have a great time.

Hope this is helpful - best wishes and have a lovely holiday.

Alison

Hi Alison

We are going to Bunree too. We are travelling from the South (New Forest). With a 1 night stop planned at the CC site Englethwaite. How long should it take for the rest of the way?

Thanks

Tigger

 

[Alison_374398168]

Hi Tigger,

One more thing I forgot. Bunree is lochside so you can get a wee bit of a breeze. The midges cant fly in anything more than a slight breeze, so thats helpful.

But also another tip is to take a table top fan and set it up next to your chairs in the evening (extension cable from awning if outside) and this wofting around the legs prevents the midges coming near. If using a barbie this helps too. But on the whole the midges are'nt too much of a problem. Dont let the midge put you off.

Best wishes Alison

 

[Dustydog]

Trucker

We and the In Laws are staying at North Ledaig 3rd week of August, just South of you near Oban.

I bought the Avon stuff direct from Avon. They are currently selling it half price

 

[cara89]

The owner of North Ledaig told us he hadnt planted TOO many shrubs,trees etc so that they didnt get midgeys. I actually said I thought it wasnt bare or anything i.e shrubs around toilet block. The natural views are fantastico anyway. no midges at North Ledaig last late July. Not one! It is right by the shore and seabreeze. Not that I would ever let them(midgeys) put me off where I wanted to go

 

[trucker]

Alison

thank you so much for your reply, some realy good stuff in there. We will be getting the Avon gear and the candles. We are realy looking forward to exploring scotland a bit, we have only ever been to Edinburgh fo a long w/e so hoping to see some more of Scotland.

Tigger were also stopping off at Englethwaite on the Saturday and Sunday then travelling up to Bunree on the Monday. Were travelling up from Tiverton in Devon.

Let us know nearer the time your outfit if you would like to say hi.

Kevin

 

[trucker]

Hey Dustydog we could have ourselves a pc meet lol

Realy looking forward to Scotland this year, been to France for the past 4 years so it will be a nice change.

Kevin