Scotland & England: Just A Wee Bit Of Rain

 Rain, rain, go away...

Brent had warned me of the continuous grey and dreary skies of England prior to our trip. The sunshine it seemed, was a luxury, according to him. 

He had taught me all the lingo I would need to know - "it's trying", meaning the first few drops of rain. Then there is "it's spitting", otherwise meaning it is sprinkling (or light rain). And of course you have "proper raining", or a typical rain shower. And last, there is my favorite - "pissing it down", your heavy rain. 

He had used a number of these phrases throughout the beginning of our relationship - standing outside in the misty droplets, my head cocked in confusion as he'd announce -

"It's spitting, love!"

Raindrops on the window of the rental car as we headed from Loch Ness to Isle of Skye

And although we were hit with an incredibly bizarre, random hail storm one day while driving from Manchester to Ashton-Under-Lyne, the weather throughout our late April/early May trip was surprisingly pleasant otherwise. Sure, there was the occasional cloudy day here and there, but I wasn't feeling any particular need to go out and stock up on Vitamin D. 

One of the stranger moments of the trip was an out-of-the-blue hail storm that hit as we traveled to visit Brent's family

I had truly gone in with the expectation of overcast skies and chilling rain for the entirety of our trip; however, the Scotland portion of our trip was quite enjoyable with only 3, maybe 4, days of gentle rain at most. The gusts of wind on both Isle of Skye and Isle of May was the bigger problem.

The day that we sailed over to the Isle of May was the coldest, while the day that we went to explore Urquhart Castle during our Loch Ness cruise was the rainiest. But I'll share more about those experiences in upcoming posts. 

The temperatures were also more mild than we had anticipated - I had of course overpacked with a pair of snow boots, a few sets of thermal underwear and 2 heavy coats in preparation for our adventure around Scotland. To our delight, were a few days when it got to nearly 64 degrees fahrenheit. That of course, didn't stop me from bundling myself up in my cozy Scottish-made wool scarves and beanie while grasping a hot cup of my favorite treat - Cadbury hot chocolate with pink & white mini marshmallows. Mmm...I was grateful for the absence of constant gloomy weather throughout our trip. This Texas girl does enjoy her sun...unless it's more than 75 degrees out, or if it's too humid, or if it's too bright, or if I just don't like the way the sun is looking at me that particular day...

So when planning your next trip to the UK, be mindful that the weather can surprise you. Sure, there are seasons when you can almost certainly count on nearly non-stop rain or bitter cold; however, you may luck out and find that the predicted gloomy 7-day forecast actually has a few days of sunshine in store.

A few sprinkles while visiting the waterfalls around Loch Leven before it began 'proper raining'

At the end of the day, no matter the time of year, it is never a bad idea to pack your raincoat/umbrella and a pair of wellies when you plan to venture to England or Scotland.