Clothing for Great Britain and Ireland

If you are walking, you want Goretex (or similar), not foulweather gear (what a sailor would wear). Goretex is designed to be waterproof and breateable, so you don't sweat like you will in the non-breatheable plastic-coated stuff. WE do a lot of hiking in the rain here in Washington State, and I've stayed dry through a full day of hiking in drizzle and rain. It works. In the interest of full disclosure I will say my rain jacket is not Goretex but the equivalent made by Patagonia. It is black and stylish enough to wear in the city too. Look on thei rwebsite for internet specials to get a deal.

If you are planning on walking off road, then bring boots, water proof, not water resistant, jacket with hood, rain pants, and layers. If you are there for five weeks, you're going to run into rain, and you won't want to let it stop you. My experience has been that paths/trails are wetter than what you find in the US, particularly in Scotland. When I did my first trip I worried about wearing that rain jacket at night, but it's better to be comfortable and dry. I take my hiking boots and then a pair of shoes that look nice, but also are good walking shoes. I often take a pair of sandals as well in the summer. I wear the boots on the plane with my sandals in my carry on. I immediately change into the sandals and stow the booths overhead. When i get off the plane, I've tied the boots to the outside of my day pack. The customs and immigrations staff always ask me where I plan on walking. :) My layers are at least one long sleeved shirt and a fleece. Then I buy a beautiful sweater in Scotland. Pam

Thank you for the replies! I am a little stressed, because this is a sorta bucket trip as my middle-aged husband has early onset Alzheimer's. This is his dream to go to Ireland and Scotland. He is a McCoy, McDonald and O'Dunne. This will be our last trip as we are "going for broke" so to speak. We are not going into any large cities because he is not keen on the hustle and bustle and the museums. We live on 10 acres and have some animals, so we are most interested in rural areas and small villages plus walks. Sorry for repeating myself. I would love to hear any suggestions on places to go ( I have read and reread all of Rick Steves' books, but it would be nice to hear about places any of you folks might have gone to that is a do not miss). I live a few miles from a Columbia outlet store and an REI so I will start my
search for a waterproof jacket, hopefully with a zip out lining. Again, I look forward to more information. Kay Oh, we leave on April first, 2013. Really!

Hello Kay-either the Columbia outlet store or REI will have some good options for rain jackets suitable for your trip. I don't know that you would need or even like the kind with zip-out lining, which is cumbersome to use. (My son had a 3-in-1 Columbia ski jacket in the 1990's and didn't ever remove the lining after trying one, so that feature was not helpful.) Personally, I would prefer to layer a lightweight rain jacket over a zip microfleece if it cold. No need to have something that zips into the outer jacket. And while you are at REI you might look for waterproof (Goretex) walking shoes. Merrell makes several models, but there are other good brands as well. Like Pam, I just wear my boots on th eplane to save room in my luggage.

Advantages of a zip-out lining: They leak. The don't let you bend your elbows. They weigh more. They bunch up in the tail when you try to sit down. You can't use the inside for anything else. They make it harder to used the outside with anything else inside. They don't keep you as warm as two layered jackets.

Kay, for Ireland, you may want to check out Frommers 25 Great Drives in Ireland. I found it really helpful for organizing the best route for touring local areas. It covers a number of beautiful areas that aren't in the Rick Steves guidebook, and it also identified small but fascinating sites/local walks that aren't in RS guidebook. The Frommers guide also provides estimated driving times, which were helpful. You'll cover less territory per hour driving in Ireland than in the US or many other parts of Europe.

I'm with Ed and don't bother with zip out linings and the such. You need layers that you can alter easily. Just get a good water proof jacket Go to that REI. Get the jacket with a good, and the rain pants. Make sure you get hiking hear. You don't want that heavy sailing gear. Tell them about your trip. I find that REI staff are really helpful. Have you looked online for info about MacDonalds? The clan was in the Hebrides and other areas. You can research this very easily online and find some wonderful memorable places in Scotland. Here's a site on the history. Did you know that McCoy comes from MacKay (pronounced McKy)? MacKay country is in the way north of Scotland. Very dramatic scenery. Suffered under the clearances. It's up in Sutherland. Although there is one caveat, that if the McCoy is Irish, then no relation to the MacKay's. Instead they were gallowsglasses, which were mercenary soldiers from Ireland. Great stuff on the Internet. ; ) PAm

Kay, You also asked for beautiful places to see. While I haven't personally been there yet, the Sky Road in the Connemara area of Ireland (on the West coast) is listed in National Geographic's 500 Journeys of a Lifetime book. You can Google it, and you can also find a few YouTube videos where others have posted highlights of their visit to the
area.

Hey Kay, a lot of the McDonalds is in the western isles. Look in the Wikipedia description of the castles in Scotland wereSkye, Mull, Jura and Kintyre. It's all in the west. Skye is a beautiful island. The Clan Donald Skye Visitor Center is on the most southeasterly arm of Skye. You can get there via the Ferry from Maillaig. The drive from Fort William to Mallaig is one of the most beautiful in Scotland. Skye is a biggish island so you need to plan a few days if you want to see it. The Trotternish Peninsula is beautiful. But the drive to Neist Point Light House is also gorgeous. Mull is another beautiful island as well. I spent time in Tobermory and also went to StaffaFingal's Cave of Mendelssohn fameand Ionaoriginal burial place of ancient Scottish Kings. The MacKay (McCoys) are further north. We did the drive over the top of Scotland. It's beautiful. If you keep going north from Skye to Durness and over toward Thurso you will see spectacular scenery. Interesting history and geology as well. When you get as far east as Betty Hill you are running into the Clearances that were driven by the Sutherlands. On the way, you'll pass Loch Eribol where the WWII convoys assembled. If you decide to explore these areas let me know and I can make more suggestions. PAm