Packing list for Britain and Ireland in any season
London, Edinburgh and Dublin in any month: four seasons before lunch, rain that comes in sideways and makes an umbrella a liability, a pub at 72°F (22°C) after a street at 46°F (8°C), a three-pin plug, and a card you tap for everything except a Dublin bus.
On a phone with Waystop installed, the button adds the list to your trip as a bag you can tick off. Otherwise copy it and paste it into Waystop’s Chat with “add this to my packing list”.
Checked October 10, 2026.
Tick things off as you go and this browser will remember. Changed your mind?
0 of 15 packed
Rain and wind
0/5Layers for hot pubs and cold streets
0/4Plugs and paying
0/3Comfort
0/3What the weather is like
London averages 47°F (8.6°C) by day in January and 75°F (23.8°C) in July, with 628 mm of rain over about 114 wet days a year. Edinburgh runs 45°F (7.3°C) in January and 67°F (19.3°C) in July with 728 mm over 128 wet days, and Dublin 46°F (8°C) in January and 67°F (19.5°C) in July with 773 mm over 137 wet days. No month is dry in any of the three, and the wind matters more than the rain.
- An umbrellaThe wind off the Forth and the Irish Sea turns it inside out on day one. If you want one, buy a £5 umbrella when it rains and the wind has dropped.
- Suede or canvas shoesOne wet morning and they are done for the week
- A hair dryer and a travel kettleEvery hotel room has a kettle, and most hotels and hostels have a hair dryer.
- A type G adapter if you forgotAirport shops and any Boots or supermarket sell one for a few pounds or euros
- A Leap card in DublinNewsagents and the airport sell them. Dublin Bus, Luas and DART do not take bank cards at the reader, so a Leap card costs less than cash fares and lets you tap on.
- A cheap wool hat in EdinburghThe Royal Mile sells them on every corner and you will want one on the hill in any month but high summer
Worth knowing
- Expect four seasons in one day and dress so each one is one zip away. The forecast says showers because it cannot say which hour; a hooded shell over a sweater over a tee handles 46°F (8°C) and drizzle at 9 a.m. and 64°F (18°C) sun at 2 p.m. without a trip back to the hotel.
- Shoes matter almost as much as the jacket. Pick a pair that keeps water out, grips wet stone on the Royal Mile and does not look like hiking gear in a Dublin pub at 8 p.m. Break them in before you fly and bring a second pair for the day the first is wet through.
- Pay by tapping in London and Edinburgh, but get a Leap card in Dublin on the first day. Dublin's buses and trams still do not accept bank cards at the reader and cash on a bus needs exact coins, so a Leap card from any shop with the sign saves a lot of standing in the rain.
Trips to pack this for
Never leave the charger in the hotel again.
Waystop keeps a list for each bag and each person. On the morning you change hotels it walks you through a quick pack-up check, and Chat can suggest items to add when you ask what to bring.