Summer Temperatures UK

[fixcef]

Hi guys,

I know this topic is by necessity going to be pretty speculative but I'm trying to work out what sleeping bag to take on a summer tour this year. I'm doing the whole coast of England, Wales and Scotland between 1st of June and the end of August and can't work out what kind of temperature range I'll see. I've got a Mountain Hardwear Lamina 20 which is good down to around 0 but it weighs 1.4kg. I'm a hot sleeper and am wondering if it's just unnecessary weight to take. Anyone have any experience of using super cheap sub-1kg supermarket etc summer bags between these months in the UK?

Alternatively, can anyone suggest what nightime temps are likely to be in those months?

Thanks,

Charlie

[JamesE]

At a rough guess? Maybe 5˚C at the lowest, 15˚-20˚C at the highest. Maybe a bit colder out in the wilds if we have a really chilly June.

I found this site which can give you data from airport weather stations going back several years, including daily/weekly/monthly minimum temperatures, so find a few airports near your route and play around a bit…

[ipswichcycler]

I've used a cheap lightweight synthetic bag and been cold especially when camping very close to the sea and a cold sea breeze comes in. I'm thinking somewhere like Newgale but I'm sure many other places are the same. Last summer I used a cumulus quantum 200 and was very warm. Good at 495g but not cheap. I used it this friday just gone with a down jacket and base layer and the one before in a bivi bag.

That probably doesn't help much but from my perspective the cheap but amazing synthetic bag that packs small and is light doesn't exist.

Perhaps it's best to keep what you have.

[randomblue]

I found this to be a really useful site regarding weather. Shows both forecasts for the coming days, historical data and averages with highs lows etc. You have to specify a city rather than being able to put the whole of the UK but if you put in for example the northernmost city and the ones you'll start and end in (since those are likely to be your coldest times due to dates/location) it'll give you a pretty good idea =)

[andrewjoseph]

When my wife and I were 2 weeks away from starting our end to end from John O'Groats in early May 2012, the weather for Scotland was forecast to be 30+ mph winds with night temperatures at -8 c. We quickly changed plans to B&B.

We did have terrible weather when riding and it was very cold with small snow showers chasing us out of Scotland.

When we do cycle camp (summer only), my bag is rated to 0 c, my wife's is -5 c. If it's colds we wear more clothes to sleep in plus the silk liner, if it's warm we put the opened bag over like a duvet.