Does it really rain that much in Britain?

I'm moving to the UK in September for university and I'm about to buy fall/winter clothing while they're still cheap. I'm from a small, warm Mediterranean city and temperatures never fall below freezing. The idea that it rains a lot in Britain is a fairly popular one, so I decided to turn to you guys for help. What should I buy? How cold does it get? What can't you go without?

Depends on which part of Britain. I've lived in London for my whole life and it's mainly cloudy rather than rainy and when it does rain it's not as bad. However go up north and it's a different story.


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Well, to put it into perspective, our average summer temperature is around 36°. It can get higher then that, and it frequently does, but that's what you can expect. In the winter, it's usually around 10°-15°. It never snows and it only rarely rains.

In the autumn/winter months you should expect a fair amount of rain! It's very erratic though so sometimes you'll have a dry week and other times it'll rain pretty much non stop for days on end. I would recommend you get a warm, thick, waterproof coat with a hood and make sure its big enough so you can layer up the jumpers underneath.

Another option is to buy a thin rain coat and hoodies (hooded sweatshirts) that can be worn underneath for the winter and you can wear the rain coat by itself when it's raining but not cold.

The temperature does quite often drop below freezing here, particularly in the evenings but the temperatures and the amount of rain both depend on where in the UK you are going as the South of England isn't going to be quite as cold or wet as the North. It's not like Russia though I mean the temperatures don't normally drop below -10 south of Scotland. I'd say you'd feel the cold moreso than us though as you won't be used to it so I recommend hoodies! A good sturdy umbrella is also a good idea.

Where in the UK are you moving to?

Nah, it doesn't rain that much, you should be ok with t-shirts and shorts for most of the year.

I'm moving to Colchester.

I was planning to get at least one thick, durable coat and perhaps a a few more jumpers. I have more hoodies then I can actually wear, so there'll be no need to buy anymore. The warmest piece of winter clothing that I currently own is a classic sheepskin pilot leather jacket with a fur collar. And I don't even get to wear it that often.

It rains very rarely here, so I don't own any shoes or boots appropriate for winter downpours. What kind of trousers do you usually wear? I can comfortably wear jeans here all year long.

Depends on which part of Britain. I've lived in London for my whole life and it's mainly cloudy rather than rainy and when it does rain it's not as bad. However go up north and it's a different story.


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I think your biggest problem will be the cold, it will take some getting used to our winters after your balmy, blissful Mediterranean locale.

Colchester, being in the corner of the SE of England, is generally a little warmer than the rest of the country, but that advantage is offset by being close to the North Sea, which is famously stormy, cold, wet and generally obnoxious. Sorry!

Crisp stormy gales, obnoxious drizzles and winters so cold I'll probably need to ensure my fingers and toes. Yay! Add a subtle dose of cynicism and sarcasm and there, that's Britain. Can't wait!!

(I'm done for, ain't I?)