Seeing the Northern Lights appears on many people’s ‘bucket lists’, with hordes of tourists flocking to Iceland each year hoping to catch the magical sight.
But Scottish people probably won’t have to travel so far this autumn and winter, as the solar activity that creates the perfect conditions to see the phenomenon is at its maximum point in 2025.
The sun reaching the peak of its 11 year ‘activity cycle’, when it ejects huge numbers of electrically charged particles towards our planet.
Some of these particles collide with the Earth, with some becoming caught in the planet’s magnetic field, where they are attracted to the north and south poles.
This collection of particles collide with atoms and molecules already present in the atmosphere, heating them up and causing them to glow – creating the Northern Lights.
You’ll have to wait until 2036 for the next time it’ll be as likely to see the Aurora Borealis.
As if to prove the point, they were visible in skies across the UK on the first day of autumn, on the evening of Monday, September 1.
The closer you are to the North Pole, the higher your chance of seeing them, and Scotland is far north enough to offer plenty of opportunities.
There are also plenty of great Scottish locations where the skies are dark enough for the lights to shine - away fom the glare of cities and towns.
Of course you need to be lucky, but a regular check of the Aurora Watch website, which measures the amount of solar activity each day, will let you know when it’s worth heading out to try your luck. If you get a red warning then hop in the car and drive somewhere dark.
Here are 11 of the best places in Scotland to go aurora hunting.
5. The Fife coast
The central belt is one of the worst places in Scotland for the Northern Lights, largely due to the amount of light pollution. A quick hop over the Firth of Forth takes you to Fife, with its relatively dark coastline. On nights with particularly large amounts of solar activity, the aurora can even be seen from St Andrews. | Canva/Getty Images
6. Ullapool
The north west of Scotland offers miles of unspoilt coastline perfect for aurora hunting. Pick anywhere between Applecross and Ullapool and hope you get lucky. | Canva/Getty Images
7. Galloway Forest Park
What Galloway Forest Park lacks in northerly latitude it more than makes up for in its lack of human-generated light. It became only the fourth Dark Sky Park in the world in 2009, and the first in the UK, thanks to the lack of people living in 300 square miles of forest and hills. Even if you don't see the Northern Lights, you can still marvel at the constellations. | Canva/Getty Images
8. Skye
Not all of Syke is suitable for seeing the Northern Lights - in many areas the island's towering mountains block the parts of the sky where they are most likely to be seen. Head to the far northern tip at Rubha Hunish though, and you have a fair chance of seeing the lights play over the endless sea. | Canva/Getty Images