kfoggy

I am going to England, Scotland and Wales in July with my husband and 2 18year old boys. We are going to be driving the whole way. What kind of clothes should I be bringing?

leejad

The weather in England is sooo unpredictable. Usually rainy and foggy, so bring an umbrella, long pants, long sleeved shirts. It may not be cold but believe me you won't be hot!! Have a wonderful time and be prepared to spend lots of money!!

semiramis

The weather is unpredictable and that's about all one can safely say.

We recently got back from a trip to England and Wales and for most of our trip - it was downright WARM and sunny! (Temps were in mid-twenties (Celsius)(about mid 70s F). I had to buy a pair of shorts and was quite relieved that most of my tops were short sleeved. Oh and ai actually got a small sunburn.

My advice bring at least one pair of shorts each and some short sleeved tops - layer if it turns out to be chilly and always bring something like a windbreaker that is water-repellant. If you intend to go on any walks - bring hats.

BTW on our 2 week trip - no fog and very little rain (just some sprinkles on a couple of days).

stfc

"Usually rainy and foggy.." "It may not be cold but believe me you won't be hot!!".
Nonsense, you can't possibly be so unequivocal. Last summer was one of the wettest for decades, five years ago London Heathrow was hotter than parts of the Middle East.
Stay flexible, be prepared for rain but if you are lucky you might not see a drop. You might see early morning mist, usually during a period of fine weather, but that will be all in July. Evenings can be quite cool outside particularly further north after dark. It all depends on where our air mass systems are coming from at the time. Could from the Arctic, could be from the Sahara desert.
Trust me, some of us here have half a century's-worth of experience of British weather. Enjoy.

W9London

While it's near impossible to predict actual weather/temperature, you might want to take note:

- public transportation lacks air-conditioning. It's quite likely you'll be hot.

- even when temperature reaches high 20s or near 30s, it usually cools down in the evening. Sometimes you might need jacket in the evenings.

- there is always a possibility of rain. though I don't think it matters at all in your wardrobe choice. Just bring a folding umbrella and make sure your shoes would be comfortable/rain proof.

To summerise, short sleeves during the day, long-sleeve possibly a light jacket for the evenings.

highflyer

If it matters very few people in Britain wear shorts except kids under 11. I think this is partly because it's pretty cool in the mornings and evenings even if it does warm up to a respectable temperature by noon.

Wear shorts in warm weather if you're hiking or going to the beach but generally about town and in the city few people wear shorts.

Bring lightweight long pants, t-shirts and an extra layer for cooler days/nights. Rain is always a possibility!

janisj

foggy? In July? Not very likely. Someone who has been to the UK once will assume that whatever weather they had is typical. Well, nothing much is "typical" except that the weather is changeable.

You could have anything except 100ºF and snow. You will not need a rain coat if you take and umbrella, and you won't need an umbrella if you take a light waterproof jacket w/ a hood.

Think light layers instead of heavy clothing. You will probably have some heat, some rain (hopefully since if it doesn't rain in 3 weeks you'll be in a drought), some warm, some cool.

sashh

I live here and yes weather is unpredictable. And changeable - you can have bright sunshine and a BBQ in the garden one day followed by cold wind and rain the next day. Scratch that - you can have a thunderstorm in the morning and a BBQ in the afternoon.

Apart from my work clothes my wardrobe consists of jeans, jeans, one pair of long shorts, combats, T shirts and a few jumpers.

If it's cold maybe a fleece or jacket.

July can be really hot, but not often. It can also be wet. I've not personally seen snow in July so that is probably the one thing you can count on.

ditto what every one else has said re layers.

One last thing - where are you coming from? Your perception of hot and cold may be different to mine.

janisj

translation of the above:

Jumpers = pull-over sweaters . . . . .

Heimdall

>>>Usually rainy and foggy<<<

In old Sherlock Holmes films, perhaps, but not in reality. SE England is dryer than North Wales, the Lake District, and Scotland, though.

Cholmondley_Warner

It hasn't been foggy (actually smoggy) in london since the early 60s. Never mind the rest of the place.

You could be unlucky and get temperatures in the low 90s - and trust me this isn't nice. Our buildings are designed to keep heat in. The tube is very unpleasant if this happens.

It's unlikly to be much under 60. It will almost certainly rain at some time.

There is a reason why we English have a reputation for talking about the weather all the time. It isn't that we don't have other subjects, just that the weather is a source of continous wonderment to us.

Mucky

Down here in sunny Cardiff the weather is generally mild. It rains a bit and when its a clear sunny day it will be quite hot.

In July 24C-28C would be typical on a nice sunny cloudless day.
However it will more likely be around 20-23C.

So bring shorts, jeans something light, T shirts and a light pullover and don't forget a light anorak of some kind too.

Good Luck and Enjoy

Muck
ps: I am sat here with shorts on and I am over 11 ...lol ;-)

Heimdall

Oh my spelling! That should have been <i>drier</i> rather than <i>dryer</i> (as in tumble dryer).

caroline_edinburgh

Most of the above but more so in Scotland. It's unlikely to be hot, may be warm (not much more than 21 degrees C usually), may rain and/or be windy some of the time, will almost certainly be cool after about 6pm. On the east coast a warm day or two is often followed by a haar - sea fog. Even if you weren't going to need them for the temperature, in the highlands you'll probably want long sleeves and trousers to keep the midges off. (Also bring mosquito repellant if you are going to the highlands.)

MissPrism

It's our good old friend layers.
I'd bring mostly short sleeved tops, with a couple of long-sleeved shirts or blouses, a lightweight jacket and a waterproof jacket, possibly with a detachable lining.
Skirts or lightweight trousers should be fine.
Please, no shorts unless you are going to the beach.

RM67

''You could be unlucky and get temperatures in the low 90s - and trust me this isn't nice. Our buildings are designed to keep heat in. The tube is very unpleasant if this happens.''

But don't worry too much about this as LT usually put up helpful posters in the summer reminding people not to die on the tube.

speckles

Layers are important, especially if you are spending a lot of time in the car. The car will heat up in the sun and be warmer than the outside temperature, so you may need to add/remove a layer as you get in/out of the car.

semiramis

To the nay-sayers on shorts for adults:

On my walks I saw PLENTY of adults (British adults) sensibly dressed in hiking shorts. If it is warm and you intend to walk at all - wear shorts. Hence my advice to bring one pair of shorts. I did not bring a pair of shorts on my trip and I had to buy a pair. It was really uncomfortable on any walk longer than a couple of kilometres to be wearing long pants. And my husband would have looked pretty silly on his beach walks, wearing long pants when nearly everyone else was in bathing suits or shorts.

However if one does not intend to walk much or go to a beach, shorts are not necessary.

highflyer

I wear shorts when walking/hiking, sitting at home or to the beach but not in the city or town as I'd feel underdressed.
I assumed this was the norm in the UK as I see far more people dressed in shorts walking around Boston/ NY /etc than locals out and about in London or Cardiff. Must admit London and Cardiff are usually cooler in July than Boston or NY..... and last year by most accounts the UK didn't really have much of a 'summmer'.

Soooo, I'm now on the fence about shorts; I'm easily swayed by the fashion police!

I guess if you normally wear shorts bring some and wear them if the weather cooperates!

highflyer

Spelling police.... how many 'm's make a summer?