Packing Guide: Ireland, Scotland, and England
Last year, we spent Thanksgiving traveling with family. We visited Ireland, Scotland, and then ended the trip in London. I highly recommend going in November! The main sights were a LOT less crowded than they normally are. As an example, for anyone who has been, we walked RIGHT UP to the Blarney Stone with no line whatsoever. Apparently that is unheard of. I also enjoyed the crisp weather, which was normally between 55 - 65 degrees (F) with a light mist from time to time. We dressed accordingly and were very comfortable, even outside trekking to Stonehenge.
Pack Based on the Activities
I broke my packing into categories by types of activities we were doing, instead of by country. What I would wear walking around the Cliffs of Moher was probably similar to what I would wear to walk around Stonehenge. There would also be some days in the cities - like London, Edinburgh, and Dublin - spent shopping and going to nice dinners, so I packed a few outfits that fit that description. This made it a lot easier to pack things I could re-wear twice. Also, I was four months pregnant, so I appreciated living in sweaters, leggings, and oversize coats most of the time :)
Dress in Layers
The temperature was very similar in Ireland, Scotland, and England - but the weather slightly differed. In Ireland, it was really windy, so we needed jackets to break the wind, but it really wasn’t that cold. In Edinburgh, it felt a lot colder because of the rain and mist, so we needed gloves and hats plus coats that blocked the rain. The London weather was pretty tame and just got chilly at night, so I could be slightly more fashionable.
Here is what I packed and what I wore.
Happy shopping!
Packing List:
I’ve linked what I could find on Amazon or similar styles.
Outerwear
North Face puffer jacket in olive green
Camel top coat - like this one
Patagonia fleece in black - this is the one I wore
Sperry boots - the boots I wore are unavailable, so here is a similar cute option
Vince Camuto booties
Baseball cap
Black floppy felt hat - like this one
Tan structured hat
Black pom winter hat
Black leather gloves
Small back pack in black - this is the one I wore
Small cross body purse in black - love this one by Madewell
Black tennis shoes (for travel days)
Basics
Black and white striped t-shirt
Black tank tops (2)
Black long sleeve shirt
Cream sweater
Grey sweater
Black and white oversize sweater (wore over tank top and leggings)
Pink sweater duster (wore over silk tank top)
Plaid button up
Jeans (2)
Black leggings (2)
Plaid blanket scarf (doubled as blanket on the plane)
Socks (4)
Boot socks (4)
Pajamas (2)
What I Wore In Ireland
Cliffs of Moher: plaid shirt, North Face puffer jacket, jeans, warm boot socks, and Sperry boots. I also had my black back pack, but was able to leave it in the tour van when we got out.
Cliffs of Moher, Ireland with my baby bump!
These boots and jacket came in handy for all of the sight seeing we did - I wore them many times!
Dublin: floppy felt hat, cotton shirt, layered with a sweater, leggings (or jeans), camel top coat, black booties, black back pack
St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin, Ireland. Some days, I kept it simple and just wore all black, with my camel color coat on top.
Ha’ Penny Bridge in Dublin, Ireland.
What I Wore In Scotland
Edinburgh: cream sweater, North Face puffer jacket, plaid scarf, jeans, black booties, structured tan hat, black back pack
The Royal Mile in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Note about Edinburgh: it was VERY rainy. This was the only day I wished I had a jacket with a hood. As you can see in the picture below, most of my family did wear rain coats with hoods, layered over sweaters or fleece jackets. For the ease of packing light, I just carried an umbrella in my backpack on this day and used it a few times. I felt like I still made the right choice with bringing just my puffer and my top coat, since it was only one day of rain.
Edinburgh Castle was pretty gorgeous, even in the rain!
Dinner in Edinburgh (no longer rainy): black winter hat, plaid silk top, tan top coat, jeans, black booties, black leather gloves, small cross body purse
Edinburgh, Scotland at night for dinner - the rain let up and it was quite pleasant!
Hot chocolate in Edinburgh, Scotland at the Christmas Market!
What I Wore In England
Roman Baths (Bath, England): White and black striped t shirt, black Patagonia fleece, North Face puffer jacket, black leggings, black Sperry boots
Roman Bath’s in Bath, England.
Roman Baths in Bath, England on our way to Stonehenge.
Stonehenge: black and white striped t-shirt, North Face puffer jacket, black leggings, black Sperry boots, black baseball cap, black back pack
Note: this was the same day as the Roman Baths, I just took off the fleece and added the ball cap, since my hair was getting frizzy.
Stonehenge, England with my baby bump!
Not pictured; dinners in London, our stay at Waterford castle, and more dinners in Dublin. I really wore more variations of the same. As you can see, what I wore underneath the jackets did not matter much (for pictures, at least), so I only worried about a cute top when I knew we were going to dinner and I would be taking my coat off. Although packing for non-beach weather was a bit daunting at first (all of those coats and boots take up a lot of room!) I actually think it made packing easier, since I mainly focused on my outerwear.
