Bitstring <[email hidden]>, from the wonderful person spongebob <[email hidden]> said
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The old midge seems to be all over the place these days. They have always been in the Highlands, and certain parts of England have always been midge hotspots: I remember being eaten alive at Crowden just one day into the Pennine Way in '86. The North York Moors has a few places where a grown man can shed tears: Grouse Hill camp site is about as bad as it gets. But.....do you get eaten alive in Devon? Dartmoor is a bleak upland just waiting for a midge invasion.........
Never have yet .. nor Corwall, Shropshire, Wales, nor the Fens. I believe the monsters in question require cold, or long winters, or something. If you think Scotland is bad, try Canada, or even Norway, both of which are famous for it.
-- GSV Three Minds in a Can Outgoing Msgs are Turing Tested,and indistinguishable from human typing.
The old midge seems to be all over the place these days. They have always been in the Highlands, and certain parts of England have always been midge hotspots: I remember being eaten alive at Crowden just one day into the Pennine Way in '86. The North York Moors has a few places where a grown man can shed tears: Grouse Hill camp site is about as bad as it gets. But.....do you get eaten alive in Devon? Dartmoor is a bleak upland just waiting for a midge invasion.........
I was in Dartmoor in May a couple of years ago and was fine, but I've started having problems in my local walking area. I'm roughly 30 miles north of Portsmouth and after a lifetime of not having any reaction to midge bites beyond the normal irritation, since last year I now suffer a fairly dramatic histamine reaction.
This may be something to do with the thinning carried out last year to the ~6 square miles of heath & woodland I walk through every day. It was done to attract birds which presumably also encourages insects.
Whether this means that there are greater numbers of midges, or they have nastier bites (or both!), or my body decided it can't cope with bites as well, I don't know....
Bitstring <[email hidden]>, from the wonderful person bob watkinson <[email hidden]> said
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"Simon Caldwell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
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GSV Three Minds in a Can said:
Never have yet .. nor Corwall, Shropshire, Wales, nor the Fens.
I was midged nearly to death camping on cader idris years ago
Hmm, maybe I'm just not the right flavour? I've seen a few flying around, but I've certainly not been 'midged to death', or even close. Now horseflies ...
-- GSV Three Minds in a Can Outgoing Msgs are Turing Tested,and indistinguishable from human typing.
In message <[email hidden]>, GSV Three Minds in a Can <[email hidden]> writes
Quoted message said:
Bitstring <[email hidden]>, from the wonderful person bob watkinson <[email hidden]> said
Quoted message said:
"Simon Caldwell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
On Mon, 16 Aug 2004 00:27:44 +0100, GSV Three Minds in a Can <[email hidden]> wrote:
> >Never have yet .. nor Corwall, Shropshire, Wales, nor the Fens.
I was midged nearly to death camping on cader idris years ago
Hmm, maybe I'm just not the right flavour? I've seen a few flying around, but I've certainly not been 'midged to death', or even close. Now horseflies ...
Well I do rather suspect that most reports of midges in England or Wales come from those who have not spent any time in Scotland in August. The Scots midge is a different animal and once experienced changes ones view of insect attacks elsewhere. Only believe posts from those who positively state they have Scottish experience!
Well I do rather suspect that most reports of midges in England or Wales come from those who have not spent any time in Scotland in August. The Scots midge is a different animal and once experienced changes ones view of insect attacks elsewhere. Only believe posts from those who positively state they have Scottish experience!
Very true. I stopped off in the Lakes a couple of August's ago on my way back from Torridon, which was every bit as bad as its reputation would have you believe, to find people in the campsite complaining of the midges. There may have been a midge density of one in every ten or so cubic metres of air...nothing, really. They were not impressed when I told them that I'd had the little blighters covering my left arm and leg (which were, obviously, heavily clothed) at such a density that you couldn't see the material through them just a couple of days earlier, but it didn't stop them complaining about the midges even so.
I'd make a dishonourable exception for the peak district midge, not because it's more vicious than its Scottish cousin, or because there are so many more of them, but because they seem at their worse right by the climbing crags...you can imagine the bizarre contortions that result when the wind drops and you're half way up a route. But maybe that's for another newsgroup...
The old midge seems to be all over the place these days. They have always been in the Highlands, and certain parts of England have always been midge hotspots: I remember being eaten alive at Crowden just one day into the Pennine Way in '86. The North York Moors has a few places where a grown man can shed tears: Grouse Hill camp site is about as bad as it gets. But.....do you get eaten alive in Devon? Dartmoor is a bleak upland just waiting for a midge invasion.........
Graham
That's also a question I am strongly interested in, since I have been sectionnally walking northwards through Britain for twelve years now, and have not yet met my first one (I have reached the Highlands this spring, beginning the WHW and leaving for next time at Drymen). But I have not yet tried Scotland in summer.
I had twice a strange experience in France, very near Paris, in a small wood (2 km NE the village of Crespières, in the Yvelines) - a swarm of tiny biting insects very similar to what midges are supposed to be. I came back once again some five years after my first visit since I was curious to see if I had not completely faked it (once in 1987, once in 1992). Both times they were there and nasty. This is quite strange since I have absolutely _never_ met this kind of things in France or indeed anywhere else. I don't know if these were midges proper or not (I don't know a French word for "midges" for good ; my dictionary gives "moucheron" but a "moucheron" is harmless, just a small fly (wow, some Googling teaches me (via a Canadian site) that "midges" should be "brûlots" in French - I had never seen this word and don't know if there are or not "brûlots" to be found here in France)).
Well I do rather suspect that most reports of midges in England or Wales come from those who have not spent any time in Scotland in August. The Scots midge is a different animal and once experienced changes ones view of insect attacks elsewhere. Only believe posts from those who positively state they have Scottish experience!
I've yet to see a single midge anywhere outside Scotland and it's not like I stay in all summer.
I'm fairly convinced that they are increasing in northern britain - certainly in my garden and elsewhere here on the isle of man they are reaching scottish proportions (and like a fool i'm heading up there next week) and they also seem worse in the Lakes...... related to climate change? Interesting PhD study for someone?
"spongebob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
The old midge seems to be all over the place these days. They have always been in the Highlands, and certain parts of England have always been midge hotspots: I remember being eaten alive at Crowden just one day into the Pennine Way in '86. The North York Moors has a few places where a grown man can shed tears: Grouse Hill camp site is about as bad as it gets. But.....do you get eaten alive in Devon? Dartmoor is a bleak upland just waiting for a midge invasion.........
"AndyP" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:[email hidden]:
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"Michael Farthing" <[email hidden]> wrote
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Well I do rather suspect that most reports of midges in England or Wales come from those who have not spent any time in Scotland in August. The Scots midge is a different animal and once experienced changes ones view of insect attacks elsewhere. Only believe posts from those who positively state they have Scottish experience!
OK - loads of Scottish experience in August since the 60's - including camping in Torridon and other hot-spots. (My worst was in Ardnamurchan - spitting out mouthfuls of them!)
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I've yet to see a single midge anywhere outside Scotland and it's not like I stay in all summer.
Well, nothing anywhere near the same density I'll grant you, but I've certainly come across enough real midges in the forests around Bedgelert and Rhydd Ddu to make life thoroughly miserable.
I seem to remember the urw expedition to Rhydd Ddu reported a serious midge assault!
In article <[email hidden]>, Stuart Mann <[email hidden]> writes
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Well, nothing anywhere near the same density I'll grant you, but I've certainly come across enough real midges in the forests around Bedgelert and Rhydd Ddu to make life thoroughly miserable.
I seem to remember the urw expedition to Rhydd Ddu reported a serious midge assault!
They were bad but probably the assault was exaggerated and nowhere near as bad as Scottish midges!
Bitstring <[email hidden]>, from the wonderful person bob watkinson <[email hidden]> said
Quoted message said:
"Simon Caldwell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
On Mon, 16 Aug 2004 00:27:44 +0100, GSV Three Minds in a Can <[email hidden]> wrote:
> >Never have yet .. nor Corwall, Shropshire, Wales, nor the Fens.
I was midged nearly to death camping on cader idris years ago
Hmm, maybe I'm just not the right flavour? I've seen a few flying around, but I've certainly not been 'midged to death', or even close. Now horseflies ...
Something, not sure what (and don't really care. The point was they had nippers), was biting vigorously on Dartmoor last week. The family was fighting over the midge headnets. -- Fran If you need my email address please ask.
Well I do rather suspect that most reports of midges in England or Wales come from those who have not spent any time in Scotland in August. The Scots midge is a different animal and once experienced changes ones view of insect attacks elsewhere. Only believe posts from those who positively state they have Scottish experience!
I've yet to see a single midge anywhere outside Scotland and it's not like I stay in all summer.
Conclusion: You live in Scotland and don't travel. They're everywhere, including in London, and always have been. It's just (probably) that the density is greater in Scotland. -- Fran If you need my email address please ask.
