A Guide to Surviving Scottish Winter

Coming in hot (more like *just* above freezing) from your local Venezuelan who hadn't experienced the four seasons until 2021

January and February feel eternal.

It seems like winter has been going on for ages and hey! It kind of has. Early February marks the middle of winter and there is a whole other month of winter to trudge through at best.

Things can only go up from here, right? Technically… But the grey days drag on and rare the sunny days are not long enough. 

At first, it doesn’t affect you much. The chill in the air is kind of refreshing in September and October, with the joys of sweater weather (and sweating less on runs). Yeah, it’s a bit harder to get up from bed, with how cold and dark it is in the mornings… But you’re okay!

You check the time of sunrise and sunset obsessively, fascinated at how it changes week by week. The allure is replaced with nervous laughter as you notice the sunset start to dip later into the morning and earlier into the afternoon. 

Adverts on the radio (Spotify) and YouTube insist on how you’re feeling sad, a gentle voice reminding you that you’re not alone and there are ways to combat sadness and loneliness. You weren't feeling affected by the drag of winter but all media points to how you should be, to how you are affected by it. 

So yeah, it didn’t affect you much. Suddenly it’s December, it’s barely 4 pm and it’s so dark the only thing you want to do is sleep… But it’s 4 and you’re in class until 6 pm on a Friday. Your flat gets so cold sometimes you keep a coat on. You look in the mirror and notice how your skin has reaaaally lost its glow and your legs look the pastiest they’ve ever been. Yikes.

I guess that is winter for you.

Coming from Venezuela, this is all very bizarre. The whole four-seasons thing. Not that I hadn’t been to other places during winter, or during spring, but I had never experienced the full cycle of changes. Now that’s a different story. If you think about it, the changes are quite dramatic, even if they feel imperceptible in the day-to-day.

There are only two seasons in Venezuela: the rainy season from May to October and the dry season from November to April. It doesn’t feel different between one and the other, it simply rains more or it rains less. Sunrise and sunset times hardly change with being so close to the equator, we get roughly the same 12 hours of sunlight year-round, give or take 15 or 20 minutes. The temperature generally stays the same too; an often sweltering but generally pleasant range between 24°C and 28°C in the capital, Caracas. 

Exhibit A and Exhibit B

So having moved to Scotland things are... different to say the least. Even as I experience my third winter here, the changes of the seasons still catch me by surprise.

Below are a few things I have found that help me cope with the drag of Scottish winter. Most of these are easier said than done and most of you don’t even live in Scotland but humour me for a bit.

I would argue that my background makes me more qualified to part with my experience and advice. Let’s call it an acute perceptiveness to change. Or even better: a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed astonishment toward said change…

Disclaimer: I looove winter for the most part, but it is a wild thing to go through —both physically, and culturally— and it can be tough!

First up I think the most important thing is recognising the things that happen during winter that make it harder than any other season (summer is a close second when it comes to difficulty but that’s a conversation for another day). These things are not hard to recognise as they are pretty obvious:

1. Darkness

• SCOTTISH WINTER IS DARK. so dark. the whole only getting 7-8 hours of sunlight is no joke!!! Endless overcast days do not help either. And when the sun does come out, it doesn’t rise as high? Like it seems to stay more on the horizon?? Wild stuff.

2. Cold

• Easier to remedy than darkness, in my opinion, as layers are your BFF. But the cold temperatures are real, and being in old buildings with not-so-great-and-expensive heating is. not. ideal.

✨loneliness✨

Loneliness tends to come hand in hand with the dark and the cold. At least for me, it can be one of the hardest things about winter.

Winter is the time I feel most far away from my family, even though ironically the time difference is shorter, being 4 hours instead of the 5 it is with daylight savings. (also daylight savings??? I still don’t understand why they are still a thing???)

So how to remedy these….

Reach Out to Friends and Family

Keep up with people, even if it’s just a lil text message. I have found that a phone call with a family member or a friend can make me feel better when it's #darkAF at 5 pm and I want to go to sleep more than anything.

Warm and Cosy Meals (with friends!)

Winter is for soups! chilly! curry! All the warm and spicy goodness. And having food with other people! SO. GOOD. In the kitchen, I have very poor portion control so I tend to cook like I feed a family of 10 on a day-to-day basis. So, I am always keen to share because having the same meal more than 3 times is a bit much sometimes.

(I’d leave photos of my scrumptious meal creations but I’m usually so ravenous I munch down asap, plus the lighting in my kitchen is awful)

Listen to Happy/Funky Music!

THIS REALLY WORKS SOMETIMES. happy music to hype you up and keep you distracted and awake when again, all you want to do is go to bed at 6 pm.

My motivation during deadline season in December was brought by Juan Luis Guerra, merengue king and bringer of joy. Who would’ve thought!!! Anything to get endorphins flowing.

I have compiled a few songs I have been listening to these past few months that are upbeat and happy, I won’t lie some are ironic, very cheesy and obvious, BUT SO FUN NONETHELESS.

link to a cheeky playlist to keep spirits up:

Go Outside!!

This seems like the last thing you want to do when it’s cold and dark. But time outside is such a must, yes the whole “touch grass” bs is true. GET OUTSIDE, go on a silly little walk (or run or hike) for your silly mental health.

I also feel a city like Edinburgh is quite suited for the whole winter, dark and gloomy look. Atmospheric if you will…

But there is also something so gorgeous about sunny winter days! Nothing like a crisp, sunny winter morning or a gorgeous blue-sky afternoon. Getting outside on those rare sunny days can feel so ✨rejuvenating✨, I swear you won’t regret it!

A hot water bottle is a wonderful investment

For others who, like me, did not know of their existence until moving to Scotland, I introduce to you the handy gadget that is a hot water bottle:

A small but mighty rubber pouch you fill with warm water allowing it to stay warm for ages and warms you up too! Plus there are nice soft and fluffy cover things you can put them in. Cute.

I got one in my second year and I have not gone back. I don’t use it as avidly as other people I know but I have no regrets. Particularly nice to keep your feet warm when in bed or on the sofa :)

Vitamin D supplements are your BFF

This winter I’ve been diligent about my vitamins and I feel it made a difference?

Vitamin D because the sun is not strong enough for your body to naturally produce it (tragic). Vitamin C to keep that immune system strong. Apparently Vitamin A helps too?I haven’t tried that yet.

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When I first flirted with the idea of moving to the UK for uni, my naive attitude towards how I would react to winter went a little like this:

“Oh I love the cold and the weather doesn’t affect my mood so I’m sure I’ll be SO fine. It’ll be so good. A dream come true!”

And I wasn’t super wrong since I do love the cold, living in Scotland is a dream come true and yes the grey and dreary weather doesn’t affect my mood or drive super aggressively. But regardless of that, WINTER IS TOUGH PEOPLE.

It’s okay to lose motivation and your will to live (a little bit). You are literally predisposed to produce less serotonin during winter (take your vitamins and stay active woohoo). It feels like everything nature is telling you to do sometimes is to cocoon and sleep. But life goes on. Seminars need to be attended, essays need to be written, food needs to be eaten and life needs to be enjoyed. Go to the pub with your friends, that’s so nice and cosy, a must year-round if you ask me.

All in all,

HANG IN TIGHT.

Before you know it flowers start popping up everywhere and the days get longer little by little. Spring is coming.

Spring surprises me the most as it feels like colour pops back out of nowhere. That’s often when you realise how dull winter gets…

Yay for flowers! Yay for SUN THAT ACTUALLY WARMS YOU UP A BIT.

Also, does someone come during the night to plant flowers at parks??? Does someone plant the seeds and then they just grow??? Do they just appear?? I kind of don’t want to find out the truth to keep the magic alive. WILD BEAUTIFUL THINGS!

Going from living in eternal Venezuelan summer and diving straight into living the polar opposite that is Scotland (seemingly short autumns, long winters and not going to lie, Scottish summer feels more like a very long spring to me) is an adventure in itself.

Through trial and error, I think I’ve slowly managed to find balance among it all.