Hoyaheel

I finally have a new trip booked to plan for! Heading to England in September for 13 days, we're renting a car for part of the trip, and moving hotels/rentals a few times - need to pack light. But unsure of weather, which makes it very difficult to plan for light - I can do it intellectually. Hubs really can't, so I'll have to do his packing list too. Finally going to take an AGA cooking class - I've wanted to do since I was young!

Hoyaheel

My luggage plan is check 22" roller, carrying tumi tote and 19" roller. Lesportsac weekender as souvenir/dirty clothing bag ..

CDTraveler

I'd take a 24" checked bag, and use the extra space for sweaters and scarves you "acquire" along the way.

Hoyaheel

Hubs wants 24" too, but I'm really worried about boot space (er, trunk - not footwear ) If I buy too much, easier to buy another duffel to bring home, or even ship if I buy too much ... I'm not saying we can do it, in the end, but it's my aim! We did 2 weeks in Vietnam & Cambodia with those smaller bags, but that temp was just hot and humid - our concern there was more laundry/hand wash for sweaty stuff.

CDTraveler

It would have to be an awfully small vehicle not to fit 2 24" suitcases + carry-on's in the boot!

willoL

I personally use a Red Oxx Aviator bag as a soft sided full size carry on (or inside my checked bag, double bagging what I leave home with) when I Travel with Intent to Shop. (TwItS?!)

Even though the Aviator line is their most basic--and affordable--offering in the Montana company's range, I always joked that I would use a Red Oxx bag if I ever needed to lower a child from our second story bedroom in a fire. I have 100% trust in their quality of materials and workmanship. In the XS and Small size, Aviator bags can be carried on, but they are sturdy enough to check without fear. I would hesitate to check some of my other carry on bags, though I prioritize weight over durability for those.

If I will have even one rolling bag with me, I know I can balance my (non-wheeled) second item on top and make use of the wheels to carry both.

If I am checking wheels, I prefer to check one large wheeled bag over more than one smaller one. I find it dreadfully annoying to manage two wheelie bags at a time, more so than keeping a tote balanced on top. YMMV

As for packing light, I believe silk long underwear is absolutely essential for shoulder season travel. If I layer it under summer clothes, I'm usually comfortable for spring/fall. And, of course, buying a nice sweater sounds like a great souvenir from the UK. I still have many silk long johns bought from the old Wintersilks catalog, but they went out of business. Now I buy Thermasilk (online) or REI (online or in local store.)

I pack for the WARMEST weather I might encounter, because I despise feeling sweaty in transit. I find it easier to pick up a top layer than a next-to-skin layer, but I'm picky about fabrics.

Hoyaheel

Avg temps 63/48 (F) in the Cotswolds in Sept, I will DIE if I wear silk long underwear. Hubs will definitely bring more layers than I will. I ran hot before menopause, now the thought of down, well, if it's not 30, I'm not going near it ;-) (I was happy I used a bigger suitcase when we went to Vancouver Island last year, as we had some very cold and wet weather for half the trip - but I also brought a lighter coat, which I wore the other half of the trip!)

My standard packing is to pack for the average temps and bring something warmer and something colder, just in case. And it's a LOT easier to pick up a tshirt than it is silk long underwear. Still have a couple months to worry about it, but this is more fun to me than finding the right rental car (which I'm also working on today... @CDTraveler - the rental car page for compacts says "2 bags" and we'll technically have 6, smaller sizes yes, but....I'm not gonna risk it - we've had issues before - and also, we have to wrangle the bags on public transport half the trip when we won't have the car!)

We actually aren't planning to shop this trip - maybe an antiques market day, certainly any thrift shops that are open and nearby - I did tag the original OxFam location in Oxford ;-) And bookstores- there are a couple authors whose books I can't easily find in the US I will look for. And bourbon, as my bestie is buying bourbons I CAN'T GET IN THE US. But that's a separate rant! Anyway, we don't tend to plan souvenir shopping on a trip, so one packed nylon duffel should be enough. And again, easy enough to buy something else if necessary.

CDTraveler

The last time I rented a car in Europe, the rental listing said "2 bags" for the boot - after I put in the 2 25" suitcases, there was room for 3 carry-ons and 6 bags of groceries. If they give you a range of models of cars, look at car sites to get the actual dimensions of the boot; that will give you a better idea of what is feasible.

One doesn't plan to shop, but shopping happens!

Which authors?
(says the person who once came home from the UK with 35 vintage books)

gretchendz

At the bottom of any checked bag I start with a flattened nylon ripstop foldable bag. Put a luggage tag on it. As I travel, the dirty clothes go in it. If I have purchased more than I should, the dirty clothes go home in my new additional checked bag, the nylon one.

Hoyaheel

I was feeling splurgy when I checked rental car prices today and tagged a bmw 3 estate (European estate cars are my dream cars and I can't get them in the US now, mostly) but that's twice the price of the Vauxhall whatever. So we'll see how I feel - might depend on whether I'm feeling splurgy or not when I check hotels and rental cottages - I already splurged on business seats too, but prices had come down to a number I was ok with.

I was half looking for some khaki trail pants, but I don't want nylon or tech pants - Eddie bAuer has a cute pair of khaki joggers on sale, so maybe...Black/ turquoise/ white for sure for packing, maybe khaki as well. I think I need to sort my shoes first and work up....

Lucy Worsley is the main author I want to find - she has lots more in England than I can get here, and we love watching her on tv. Possibly decorating and or antiques, esp jewelry, books - I have a couple ideas written down but also just adore bookstores, esp used. I also have a list of foods to try from the grocery (we've been watching Inside the Factory and want to try a bunch of snacks and sweets we've seen made!) Guess we'll be shopping; I'm also noting market days & offerings in different Cotswolds towns

QT31415

Sounds lovely! I'm also a grocery-store tourist. It's such an interesting cultural experience. For example, Russia makes the most minty toothpaste I've ever tried - maybe they need to get a certain taste out of their mouth. Love the different sweets and crisps flavors also. Or should I say "flavours". We're headed to London this month, and have restaurant reservations all made - will need to bring multiple sizes of clothing lol.

Hoyaheel

For the longest time, I brought back so many tins of canned fish Bulgaria, Portugal, whatever....and spices (I like to find "local" blends if I can - in Bulgaria, couldn't find the salt blend i wanted, but we had a picture of the shaker from a bar table. The store clerk laughed but she found it right away!

rsqrott

I do exactly the same, even when I'm flying carry on only outbound. If I need the space coming home my dirty laundry gets checked. As a plus the portable nylon duffle can go through the wash as well.

Hoyaheel

Yeah, this is what the lesportsac weekender is for - have 2 sizes, medium & large, pick which to use based on length/intentions of the trip Have done so for 15+ years. I think that's at least how long I've had these duffels, maybe longer, because the store where I bought them doesn't exist now....

Hoyaheel

OK, the packing prep is starting - we leave next week. Temps this past week looked like here last week - 80 during the day, 65 at night. Cooler this upcoming week - 68 day, 50 night, with more rain back in. Similar weather in all the areas we will be. Shoes could be an issue for me - my most comfy walking shoes are a little heavier, goretex Haglofs walkers - I tend to wear in the colder months. For summer walking I tend to use hiking sandals. I don't have a great pair of walkers for medium temps. (other shoes will be an ecco slip on sneaker and a birkenstock)

Can I do a light pack? I have started with The Vivienne Files 4X4 wardrobe template, we'll see how closely I can stick to that. I'm already laughing. Hubs isn't helping - he won't pack light. He might pack lightER.....I just don't want to be hauling bags all over the place - we move a lot more than we normally do for this trip, 5 different hotels/rentals over 2 weeks.

Am also realizing I haven't reserved or planned many of the day to day things, so trying to figure that out now too.....That's normal, I don't like to make too many reservations, but there are probably some things I need to reserve where I'm certain of the timing....