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Aurora Scotlandialis

PhotoGav

By PhotoGav
in The Astro Lounge

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Floater

Floater

Posted
Posted

Sango Sands should be good, Gav. And, if I recall correctly, there is also a site at Balnakiel, less than a mile from Durness. Incidentally, camping just outside Durness, many a long year past, was where I first saw the aurora when that far north, although I had already had views in the Cairngorms.

Hope it all works out for you..

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Islander

Islander

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Sango is a lovely campsite and the drive up to it is sublime.  You should be able to see any displays from the site, or better still from the beach.  I can recommend a visit to Smoo cave (a couple of miles east of the site and clearly signposted) and if you have time and the service is running (I'm not sure what the arrangements are this time of year) then the ferry and minbus to Cape Wrath is also worth a try.  :)

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PhotoGav

PhotoGav

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Excellent Islander, thank you for that. I'm becoming increasingly excited about the whole trip! Fingers crossed for good conditions.

What do you think about road conditions around there at that time of year - I will be in a fairly large motorhome?

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Islander

Islander

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Coming up from the south there's a lot of single track - the section from Rhiconich up might be a problem if there has been snowfall.  The approach from the east along the north coast might be a better route if there's dodgy weather but check the reports -  there's still a lot of single track to deal with.

The Orkney Aurora group on Facebook is a very useful resource.  It reports the slightest display.

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Floater

Floater

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6 hours ago, PhotoGav said:

What do you think about road conditions around there at that time of year

No point in beating about the bush here. At end-February you are in the lap of the gods. It could be impassable roads and howling storms or the most glorious, dry, bright, calm conditions - and everything in between.

You'll just have to big up your karma ... ??

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Paul M

Paul M

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4 hours ago, Floater said:

 It could be impassable roads and howling storms or the most glorious, dry, bright, calm conditions - and everything in between.

??

I think you're sticking your neck out a bit by being so specific! :)

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acey

acey

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I've often seen aurorae from my dark site in Northumberland (latitude 55 degrees - just a little further north than the southernmost parts of Scotland). Spectacular ones are very rare - the further north you go, the more intense the auroral activity, and the better the chance of getting a really good show. But they never look like the photographs (aurorae are generally not much brighter than the Milky Way). And apart from latitude the crucial factor is the likelihood of a clear sky. Not many people plan a UK holiday on the basis of expecting sunshine (i.e. a clear daylight sky), and the  same principle applies at night: if the weather is good you're lucky, but don't bank on it. Personally I wouldn't think of doing an "aurora trip" to Scotland, any more than I'd go there seeking a sun-tan. I speak as an ex-pat Scot who has been sunburned many times in the Auld Country - and has also seen many days or weeks of cloud and rain. The Northumberland climate is much the same - makes me feel perfectly at home... though the talk of Durness etc is filling me with nostalgia for baking-hot days during childhood camping holidays.

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