Jackets for men at opening dinner and closing dinner

mcamps

My husband and I will be taking the England, Scotland & Wales trip on August 10, 2018. Can someone who has recently gone on this trip tell me if most of the men wear jackets for the welcome dinner and the farewell dinner.
Thanks. Marie

AlanS

mcamps wrote:

My husband and I will be taking the England, Scotland & Wales trip on August 10, 2018. Can someone who has recently gone on this trip tell me if most of the men wear jackets for the welcome dinner and the farewell dinner.
Thanks. Marie

We haven't been on this tour recently but I believe recent posts offer varying opinions. It depends on the group and time of year. I think most will say at least 50% - 75% of the men will wear a jacket on the welcome and farewell dinners and any other special meals. Maybe 50% of those will also wear a tie. Depending on the weather ties and often jackets may be quickly shed- it was warm during our tour, so jackets and ties came off within the first few minutes. However, some say slacks and a nice shirt were the attire of choice during their tour. Joyce just got back so will likely weigh in here before too long.

joycesw

And, here I am! Still jet lagged! A bit of background...we have been traveling with Tauck since 2000, and my husband dutifully schlepped his jacket and tie for the first few trips. Along about 2007, probably coinciding with one of his first retirements, he decided a jacket was just not going to be packed. He always brings nice long-sleeved woven shirts and dress slacks, but the inside of his suitcase has not seen a jacket in 11 years! We just returned from this trip, and most men did have a jacket. Many were newer travelers. However, there were a few holdouts ( husband included) and they did not look underdressed, nor were they out of place. Frankly, there is no place ( including both welcome and farewell dinners) that is so formal that one would be out of place without a jacket! I think your husband has to decide about his own comfort level.
As I wrote in another post, we tacked on an Ireland tour at the end of ESW, and at Dromoland Castle the dining room had a note about jackets required for men. Our TD said not to worry, and after we were seated, a jacket was surreptitiously slipped over the back of his chair and problem was solved!
Frankly, you should be more worried about the general weather on this trip! We were prepared for cooler temps and had plenty of layers. I wore gloves on our first day in Edinburgh, and I was grateful to have them. All of a sudden there was a “heat wave” (in late May/early June, yet), and we were shedding layers like crazy! By the time we got to London, it was sandals and tank top weather (none of which we had, BTW). I suggest looking at the trends and being prepared for anything!

British

Ah yes, that’s why Brits talk about the weather!