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Start with a layering system, not a single jacket

Anyone who has spent a day on the fells knows the forecast is little more than a polite suggestion. You can set off from the car park under blue sky and find yourself in horizontal drizzle on the summit two hours later, with a wind that seems to come from every direction at once. The trick is not to own one miracle jacket, but to build a flexible system of layers you can add and remove as the day unfolds. Think of it as a set of tools rather than an outfit, and pack for the weather you might get, not just the weather you have.

The three-layer principle, explained simply

Layering works because trapped air is what keeps you warm, and you can only manage that air if you can adjust how much you are wearing. A base layer next to your skin moves sweat away before it chills you. A mid-layer traps warmth. A shell keeps the wind and rain out while letting your body breathe. Get those three working together and you can handle almost anything a British hill can throw at you.

• Base layer: merino wool or a synthetic wicking fabric, never cotton. Cotton soaks up sweat, holds it against your skin, and turns a pleasant breeze into a genuine chill.
• Mid-layer: a fleece or lightweight synthetic jacket for most of the year, swapped for a warmer insulated layer in winter. This is the layer you will take on and off most often.
• Shell: a waterproof and windproof jacket with taped seams and a hood that stays put in a gust. Pit zips are worth having if you run warm.

Pack the mid-layer and shell where you can reach them without taking your pack off. If getting to your jacket means stopping, unclipping and digging around, you will delay putting it on, and by the time you do you will already be cold and damp.

Spare gloves and a hat: the small items that save the day

The extremities lose heat first, and cold hands make everything harder, from reading a map to fastening a zip. A spare pair of gloves weighs almost nothing and takes up less space than a sandwich. On a long day in the hills, two pairs is sensible: one thin pair for walking, one warmer pair for stops.

• Two pairs of gloves or a thin liner pair under a thicker shell pair, so you always have a dry set to hand.
• A warm hat, plus a second thin one in summer if the wind is forecast to be strong.
• A neck gaiter or buff, which doubles as a hat, ear warmer or a way to keep spindrift off your face.
• A spare pair of socks in a dry bag. Few things lift the mood like dry feet at the end of a wet descent.

Keep your gloves and hat in a pocket or the lid of your pack rather than buried at the bottom. When the wind picks up on an exposed ridge, you want them on within seconds, not minutes.

Carry an emergency shelter, even on a short walk

An emergency shelter is a lightweight, brightly coloured bag or bothy that you climb inside to get out of the wind and rain. It folds down to about the size of a water bottle and weighs under 300 grams. You may never use it, but when someone is injured, exhausted or genuinely cold, it turns a miserable wait into a manageable one, and it can be the difference between a shivering walker and a serious situation.

Practise getting inside it once at home or on a calm day, so you know how it works before you need it. Learn to use it without taking your pack off, and remember that it only works if you can get out of the wind to set it up. In a group, one shelter for two people is better than none, but a shelter each is ideal.

A simple foil blanket is a useful backup but it tears easily and offers little protection from wind-driven rain. Treat it as an addition to your shelter, not a replacement.

Pack for the weather you might get, not the weather you have

Before you leave, read a mountain forecast for the actual area and altitude you are walking, and take note of wind speed as well as rain. Wind is the factor most people underestimate; a still ten degrees on the valley floor can feel close to freezing on a summit in a forty mile per hour gust. Then add a little margin.

• Waterproof overtrousers, not just a jacket. Wet legs drain heat fast on a long descent.
• A spare warm layer in a dry bag, kept dry even if everything else gets soaked.
• A head torch, because a slow day can turn into an unexpectedly late one.
• Food and a hot drink in a flask, which lifts morale as effectively as any piece of kit.
• A fully charged phone and a paper map with a compass you know how to use.

Weigh your pack before you set off and aim to keep it light enough to move comfortably, but never so light that you have left your safety margin behind. The best kit is the kit you actually carry.

Adjust early, and adjust often

The single most useful habit in changeable weather is to add and remove layers before you feel uncomfortable, not after. Take your jacket off when you start to overheat on a climb, before you are soaked in sweat. Put your hat and gloves on at the first sign of a cold wind, before your hands go numb. Stop, adjust, and carry on. Do that well and a grey, drizzly day on the fells becomes something to enjoy rather than endure.