Into the Gloaming

Bagpipes. Tartan. Haggis. Shortbread. Scotland is known for many clichés, but there’s one in particular where, perhaps, there’s a wee nugget of truth: that of our sometimes dreich (dreary) weather and infamously long winters. ‘There are two seasons in Scotland: June and Winter,’ so said legendary actor, musician and comedian Billy Connolly. He’s exaggerating, of course – that’s what makes it funny – but on a gloomy day in November, or as storms lash the windows in February, perhaps it’s funny because sometimes he’s not that far off the truth.

Our geographical position means that our winters are – yes, fact, not cliché – often long and dark because of our northern latitude. This means our days shrink to between six and eight hours of daylight midwinter depending on where you are in Scotland – an hour or even two less of daylight than in the south of England (although it’s worth remembering that this is flipped in summer, when it barely seems to get dark in the northernmost parts of Scotland). The darker half of the year – or “nychtin’ time” as it’s sometimes referred to in Scots – is something that is woven into our national identity whether we like it or not.