UKC

A group of us have just booked a trip to Pabbay 15th – 24th May this year.

Looking at the dates of the ticks on the UKC log, we're a bit worried we're going a little too early in the season and perhaps we should delay by a couple of weeks.

Has anyone got any experience going at that time of year?

I’m well jealous should be an awesome trip! 

Can’t speak for Pabbay and Mingulay itself but I was on Lewis and Harris last Easter for two weeks and climbed every day but one. Some cold and windy, but all climbable if you picked the right venues.

Hope that helps

Spring is often better (dryer) than summer in Scotland.  May is as good a bet as any time.  But of course it could do anything from gorgeous for a week to wind and rain all week.

We went at a similar point last year and weren’t disappointed by the weather. We had to cut our trip slightly short due to bad weather arriving but we had a good 6 days of climbing on amazing rock on Pabay and an incredible place to spend time in general! Enjoy!

If you go by the climate data May is, on average, the driest month, followed by June - https://www.weather-gb.com/en/united-kingdom/isle-of-barra-climate .

For what it's worth I went to Pabbay for a week during the third week of May last year. It was dry for 6 days and rained for 2. I also bailed on a trip 4 years ago at almost exactly the same time of year because the forecast was so bad. I suspect that although May is on average the driest, the variance in monthly rainfall is higher in May than later in the summer as there is a chance of catching a storm from the tail end of winter. Although I have no data to back this up!

I'd say you've booked the perfect, pre-midge time.

The Met Office suggests that in May, the Outer Hebrides get the same average rainfall as the UK as a whole. Not bad for somewhere that gets more than its fair share of rain, overall.

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-actual-and-a... 

It's quite an interesting platform for playing about on - and (depressingly) it underlines just how wet August is in Scotland! 

I've increasingly come to think of May being Scotland's 'summer', for climbing at least. 

D.

Thanks all!

Feeling reassured (and psyched!)

Traditionally a lot of people arrive around the second May day bankie. It might be nice to be there before them. Or not, depending on how sociable you are! Obviously the weather can be 'fresh' in May.

In my experience, the weather on Mingulay and Pabbay can be very different from mainland patterns. I've had loads of good weather on trips in July and August (as a teacher I have to go then anyway). It is as if the weather is passing over the top of the islands. We once had a great week and returned to find there had been floods on the mainland. Also had one pretty wet trip and called off a couple too though because of the forecast!

Am I the only one disheartened by the new guidebook and the subsequent huge groups of clubs/groups camping on there for weeks on end with all the problems that come from concentrated people in a small area? 

For me the area is one of the last great wild places the UK possesses and i'm saddened by the direction of travel i've seen first hand in the summer. 

Please ensure if you're visiting to do everything possible to minimise the environmental impact of your trip. 

Mr Ed

I've not been, but the complaints about large groups camping there predated the recent guidebook by a few years

How huge were the groups? When I visited there were around 18 climbers and a group of 10 from National Trust Scotland. This seemed like a manageable number to me. A member of the NTS group did suggest that it might be an idea for climbers to bring a portable toilet with them each season. Seemed like a sensible suggestion to me although I've no idea of the pros of this over using a trench.

“I want it to remain wild and remote but only for me”

I went in 2018 for roughly those dates for two weeks and had no rain. It was pretty hot most of the time and scorching hot for a few days.