Northern Lights in Scotland

kitty1941

Where are the best places to see the Northern Lights in Scotland? Looking at booking a cottage for 4 people so any suggestions of where to stay would be great also. Thank you.

pogofish

The further north and as far away from urban light pollution as possible - I have seen spectacular clear skies north of Cromarty, in the Cairngorms and in many places on the west coast.

If you go to the Orkneys or Shetland Islands, your chances are increased further.

What time of year are you planning on going? IIRC, the best time for seeing aurora has passed for this year and it won't be until well into autumn before it comes round again.

kitty1941

Looking at going in October 2019 during half term - about 19th October (one of the party is a school teacher - so we are looking well in advance)

alanrowell

It's pot luck whether you'll see them - they aren't predictable and you need clear skies. It's also heading to solar minimum which reduces the chances of them occurring.

Best times BTW are allegedly around the equinoxes

daveyjp

I'd choose an area as far north as possible, but somewhere you would like to go, rather than concentrate on Northern lights, which you will be very lucky to see with just one week in the area.

Uniquecottages is a good website for Scottish holiday cottages.

glennevis

Have a look at the aurora watch website
https://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/alerts/
Sign up for alerts, or install the smartphone app, it might give you an idea of how (in)frequent sightings are.

kitty1941

daveyjp wrote: »

I'd choose an area as far north as possible, but somewhere you would like to go, rather than concentrate on Northern lights, which you will be very lucky to see with just one week in the area.

Uniquecottages is a good website for Scottish holiday cottages.

That is what we are aiming to do, but would like to hopefully see the Northern Lights if we are in the right area.

andrewf75

daveyjp wrote: »

I'd choose an area as far north as possible, but somewhere you would like to go, rather than concentrate on Northern lights, which you will be very lucky to see with just one week in the area.

This.

I don't think people should go even to Iceland/Norway etc specifically to see the northern lights, I've know a few people who have ended up disappointed. For Scotland, where its obviously much more rare to see them it's even more important not to make that the main purpose of your trip.

kitty1941

We did look at Iceland but decided against, so decided on Scotland instead knowing that if we see the Northern Lights it will be a bonus, but we will still have a good holiday.

sheramber

Caithness and Sutherland are your best bet
http://www.spanglefish.com/caithnessastronomygroup/index.asp?pageid=424219