by Scotjamie » Wed Dec 05, 2012 12:50 am
Welcome to the site membership ala_fred.
Midges are an early June to late September phenomenon, at their worst in warm, still, damp, loch/riverside locations. They have a tendency to be more prevalent on the west coast, than, say, in the Cairngorms but on a bad day, I have been driven just as mad on Deeside as on Skye. Sometimes a sunny day with a breeze and you won't see much of them at all, paticularly in towns, and I have also experienced midge-free weekends in Scotland. In other words, hard to plan a Scottish visit to avoid them....sorry!
Any suggestions about places to visit will depend to some degree upon how much 'bigger and wilder' you mean. Compared to the Lakes, the main 'bigger and wilder' are the munro's and the remote areas. The remote areas such as Torridon, Assynt, Knoydart will have little on offer for the rest of the non walking family. Skye has more going for it in tourist activity, but is a heck of a hike from the south. Wilder and bigger tends to mean north of the central belt. Perth and Pitlochry are pretty with some good (and easier) high walking, but the two obvious centres of 'other family' activity are the (slightly less pretty ) centres of Aviemore and Fort William. These centres would offer access to a wealth of good walking as well as the potential for other things going on. Might be worth googling the tourist/ things to do activities in these areas, then planning walks from this site.
Whatever you decide, enjoy the site and any visit to Scotland