In reply to Dave Hewitt:
Thanks Dave. I was up in the far north a couple of weeks ago and there was a lot of snow on the ground (and falling from the sky). While I enjoy winter mountaineering, walking through the snow or dealing with crampons sure slows you down.
While I've visited the Lakes a lot and been up most of the mountains there, I dont find it to be a welcoming place any more - I feel they really should have signs at the entries to the Lakes: "Leave your money here, turn around and go away." More local to me and far more open armed in my view is North Wales so that's where I prefer to go. Of course, nowhere near the vastness and variety of Scotland of which I am always a little jealous.
I'm usually sleeping in a hammock/tent/front seat of my little Hyundai i10 (I'm 6'2...) so midges are a real bother. But during my visit last September, for the first time, I was inundated with ticks! Little swines. So I limit my trips to Scotland to just a few short months of the year.