Luggage together, in one daypack
I want to walk around the fields and mountains of England and see a lot of things, so I've kept my belongings to a minimum. I'll bring a daypack that's light enough that it won't get in the way even if I carry it all day.
Cotton pants and a T-shirt are the basic clothes, but it can get cold in the summer mornings in England without a long-sleeved shirt. A small folding umbrella and a thin jacket or raincoat to protect you from the wind are also essentials for walking in the mountains.
To make it as light as possible, I give up on things that I'm not sure whether to bring or not. If it's really difficult, I can just buy it when I'm there. I don't bring a guidebook, I just copy the parts I need. What's important to me is a detailed map that I can buy when I'm there. I attach a compass to my daypack with a string so I don't lose it.
I don't have many clothes, so I'll have to do laundry every day. I use the bathroom to wash them with a small soap. But I don't have a private room, so I have trouble finding a place to hang them. Many youth hostels have drying rooms in the basement or elsewhere, which is helpful. If there is no place to dry clothes, I take care to lay a towel on the floor to prevent them from dripping near the bed.
In such cases, hiking shirts made of highly absorbent and quick-drying materials such as dry acrylic or polyester are convenient.
Climbing underwear also dries after hanging it to dry indoors overnight. I wash socks every day, but so far I have not found any that dry as easily as hiking T-shirts.
I wear sneakers that are easy to walk in. I probably should have bought some rubber sandals somewhere to cross the tidal flats at Walton on the Naze.
This time I brought a digital camera and a small computer, the HP200LX. I downloaded a lot of records from the web of Donky and other senior pilgrims. I was planning to type my diary into it, but it was quicker and more convenient to write in pencil on a paper notebook.
In Italy, I lost my eraser and had to go to a stationery store to buy one. I couldn't get my point across by saying "eraser," so I made a gesture of erasing something written in pencil. Apparently, in Italian it's called "gomma."
I use pencils, so I bring a touch knife to sharpen them. This has a blade that only projects about 5mm, but I once had one found at Kansai Airport and was not allowed to bring it on board.