What to pack for London in January

Lows around 36°F. Goes under the shell when the wind picks up.

Wear one, dry one. Cotton stays wet all week here.

The layer you'll wear more than any other.

Lows hit 36°F. Pick a hat rated at least 5° below that.

Wind gusts to 22 km/h and temperatures drop to 36°F.

Check ankles and, if there's a dog, paws and ears every night.

Twelve rain days a month means minor cuts get exposed to wet conditions.

This country runs on Type G. Get one with USB-C so you're not fighting over the single outlet.

Short daylight and constant indoor-outdoor shifts drain phone batteries quickly.

Set it up before you land. Signal drops for long stretches outside cities.

Dark by 5:20pm. Every campsite chore after that is a two-hands job.

Overhead bins fill fast on London routes. Pack small enough to skip checked bags.

Parks near the city need exploring on foot across eight daylight hours.

Fits the overhead on every airline that matters. Skip the checked-bag line entirely.

For the passport, the chargers, and the one dry pair of socks.

For the mornings and the nights.

Eight hours of daylight means most of the day is cold and dark.

Damp ground and low temperatures make wet feet painful by midday.

Tap water is safe, but a reusable bottle saves money and waste.

One brick charges the laptop, phone, and camera.

Hotel and cafe wifi is shared with everyone else in the building. A VPN keeps your banking and email to yourself.

International airport crowds and busy stations make bags easy to lose track of.

Rain and humidity soak clothes. Cubes keep wet items from soaking dry ones.

Twelve rain days in January mean wet clothes need washing mid-trip.

Lows around 36°F. One blanket that packs small covers the car, the campsite and the beach at sunset.

The Tube is loud and crowded in January.

Crowded transit in January spreads colds through the city fast.

Museums and cafes have one outlet per room at best.

Border checks at the airport take longer than you expect.

Luggage moves through multiple hands from taxi to hotel.

Guesthouse bathrooms are often cramped and poorly ventilated.

Jet lag hits hardest when daylight lasts only eight hours.