Dumfries and Galloway people help please

[Buddy'sMum]

I'm trying to persuade OH to move to beautiful D&G and I need your help!
Ideally, we'd move to my childhood summer stomping ground of Portpatrick but OH has offices in Manchester and for the next few years will need to be in the office for a few days every couple of weeks so probably a bit too far away from the M74. Realistically we're (well, I'm) looking at the stretch of coast from Kirkcudbright to Creetown. Main points of resistance from OH are the weather (he'd prefer south coast of England) and midges.
How bad are the evil little gits? We'd be very close to the coast (and far enough away from the forest), I'm hoping the sea breeze would keep them to a minimum?
TIA

 

[lauracwd2]

I don't find too much trouble with midges here. They are worst after a shower of rain in hot weather or if you have a lot of standing water. I just use regular fly spray on the horses in summer and they seem happy with that, hardly ever see midges in my garden at home.

 

[shirl62]

Can't offer you any advice regarding midgies etc..if it was me I'd jump at the chance to move back to my native Scotland. I lived in Dumfries many years ago..loved it.

Shirl

 

[maggie62]

Hi
I live in the scottish borders.........not far from D&G, been here for over 3 yrs now and I can't say midges have been a problem, usually too windy.

 

[dollyanna]

I'm not far from Lockerbie, so not coastal but don't get many midges unless you go into the woods on a muggy day. half an hour further north can be really midgey. Coastal areas, especially where you're looking at, I've never had any problems with them in the times I've been there (walking mostly, occasional camping). My conclusion after nearly 10 yrs is that it really depends on the individual area - the climate can vary dramatically within half an hour of an area, so you'd need to look at different times of day in the area you're considering, and speak to potential neighbours etc.
The area you're looking at seems to have it's own little microclimate anyway and usually has much nicer weather even when everywhere else is grim.
I can recommend a lovely holiday cottage if you need to bring him up for a recce! Right on the coast, run by a local.