A SCOTS hillwalker has captured a video of a stunning sunset being completely taken over by a swarm of skin crawling midges.
Gregor Helm filmed the skin twitching footage while camping at Loch Glascarnoch in the Scottish Highlands on Friday.
The 43-year-old, from Dunfermline, Fife, had been out hill walking before camping out beside the loch which is located around halfway between Ullapool and Inverness.
The video shows thousands of ravenous midges buzzing around together in front of a picturesque sunset.
The sky is filled with warm orange and red hues but has been interrupted by the huge swarm of biting beasties in front.
Gregor said he believes the midge swarm was the worst he has ever seen.
The dad-of-two posted the footage on Facebook last night, captioned: “The Scottish midge in full force.”
The video has already gained over 7,000 views and attracted hundreds of comments from horrified social media users.
Lee Gibson said: “Flame thrower springs to mind.”
Faith Draper LeLievre said: “Those are no joke. I’ll make sure to pack my net when I visit.”
Lee Wilson said: “Getting itchy watching that.”
Paula Lawson said: “I would go insane.”
While Catherine Lindsay added: “Oh lordy, my skin is crawling.”
Speaking today, Gregor said: “It was just me and a friend for a couple of days away to climb a few Munros.
“We had been hillwalking all Friday afternoon above Loch Glascarnoch and camped overnight near the roadside before walking in the Fannich hill’s the next day.
“It was by far the worst this year, probably the worst I have ever seen.”
The current midge forecast in Ullapool is set to four – the second highest rating and described as: “That’s no mist that’s midges.”
Midge season in Scotland typically lasts from the end of May to September.
This year has been described by experts as having a “mega hatch”.
Midge expert Dr Blackwell said: “This year there’s due to be a bigger hatch than ever of Scotland’s famous highland midge.
“Each year the season is becoming even longer.”
