What to wear in England in July
 

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?

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!!

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).

"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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

translation of the above:

Jumpers = pull-over sweaters . . . . .

>>>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. :-)

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.

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 ;-)

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

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.)

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.

''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.

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.

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.

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!

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

One swallow does not make a summer, neither does one fine day... ( I loooked it up! It turns out that Aristotle said this, except presumably in Greek.

May I effuse embarrassingly for a moment? This is why I keep coming back to this silly addictive cantankerous website. It's the words, not the spelling.)

Enthusiasts of shorts for walking - note my previous comments about midges in Scotland. Also look up bracken mites and Lyme's disease.

Re: shorts for walking - obviously if one intends to walk in areas where one is likely to encounter mites, tics etc, one should dress appropriately BUT if one intends to walk on good paths on a hot day, I still recommend shorts unless you really like to sweat - I don't. Oh and pants especially with cuffs make great hiding places for tics - if you wear pants in tic-infested areas be sure to have on long socks (pulled over the pants (gaiters (sp?)are also pretty good protection). Basically I believe in dressing sensibly and comfortably to walk. What really amazed me was the occasional person we encountered wearing footwear like flip-flops - good ankle-breakers on even the best trail!

Yes, Caroline, good advice.
I always wear long trousers and tuck them into my socks.
Mind you, the last time I was in the Highlands, I put Skin-so-soft on every exposed surface and some b----y midges got under my watch strap.

Skin so soft worked otherwise?

Can you catch Lyme disease in Britain?


One swallow does not make a summer,&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;

But it makes for a corking night out.

Re shorts - in general we don't wear them unless we're undertaking a sport or leisure activity - so they're fine for walking etc (but don't make the mistake of underestimating the British sun - it may not feel as hot as elsewhere but it can still burn). No one will actually throw stones at you if you wear them but you might feel a bit odd.

Re the whole shorts debate it does depend on what type, i've a couple of pairs of 'city shorts' which i wear quite often when the weather is warm with a pair of wedge heels.

They are tailored knee length shorts and look smart and keep me cool.

I hate midges! And all nasty biting insects for that matter - because unfortunately they LOVE me! In general I have found that only a good insect repellant helps. On me biting insects just bite through clothing.

I have not tried skin-so-soft for midges - next time I am in Scotland I will give it a try. I have found it useful to prevent sand-flea bites in British Columbia and parts of the Caribbean. And unfortunately I found it useless for Northern Ontario black flies (THE WORST - they take CHUNKS out of your body).

Luckily on my walks in England and Wales I had NO biting insect issues - it was so nice to enjoy walking without first taking a chemical bath.

I just came back from a bus trip through England, Scotland and Wales and had the best weather imaginable. Take comfy clothes, don't spend time trying to be fancy during the day.

I wore jeans (but that's what I'm most comfy in, many people wore slacks/khakis) and had a mix of t-shirts and light weight sweaters and a jacket. The main idea is to take clothes you can layer... start with warmer clothes in the morning, and be able to stay comfy as you climb many flights of spiral stairs. Keep the idea of &quot;if you don't like the weather, wait 20 minutes&quot; and pack in layers to accommodate that.

When I was in London, I think it was in the 70's and sunny, but in northern Scotland it was definitely chilly. I kept a lightweight raincoat with me and it was great for a windy day, even though it never rained.

CW, yes I have relatives who caught Lyme's disease in Hampshire where they live.

Josser, how annoying about midges getting under your watch strap ! Sadly for you you've reminded that I've yet again forgotten to try getting some SSS before my imminent hols :-(

Sorry Josser, that should obviously have been &quot;sadly for *me*&quot; !

Not that the title of the book helps in the packing for a summer holiday in scotland or england but i have to admit that i picked up alexander mccall smith's 'the right attitude to rain' as appropriate reading before our trip! And I quote the blurb - &quot;the key to contentment in the scottish climate is the right attitude to rain just as in life ...making the best of what you have&quot; . incidentally, what do you all have to say about this author? cheers and happy packing1

Yes Skin so Soft did seem to work, but It wasn't the real midgie season.
They seemed to be restricted to the woods.
The little village shop where we stayed had it on sale with the other insect repellents and the wee shop wifie said that people were saying that it worked.
It's certainly nicer than those things with Deet in them.

Hi Josser, thanks for the feedback. Maybe next time I'll remember !

tongsa, I am reading an AMcS book at the moment ! I love his 44 Scotland Streeet books (which I think describe living in Edinburgh so exactly !) and his Isobel Dalhousie books. I quite like the Von Igelfeld (sp?) books. Not so keen on his Mma Ramotswe books which I think a bit too 'nice', but they are incredibly popular. And he is a lovely man. Another line, similar to 'the right attitude to rain', which you'd probably like is something along the lines of 'he liked Edinburgh just how it was - grey, chilly and often only semi-visible' :-) (Actually lovely &amp; sunny at the moment though !)

the day before i arrived in london one year it was boiling hot even by subtropical standards
the next day it was back to 15 degrees
this was june, albeit, but upon arrival back in london in july, i was still wearing a cardigan...

in one day you can have many changes...and the rain is one of them so wet weather gear - light and scrunchable is ideal

caroline_edinburgh - I agree with u on AMcS - I found his humor on the sausage dogs really funny and I do like Isobel Dalhousie too. The other author is Ian Rankin but AMcS is just as lightweight as I like!!
Looking forward to discovering &quot;his&quot; edinburgh!!