Keeping warm whilst exploring County Derry in winter

County Derry in Northern Ireland is a wonderful place to go on a wintery walk. With beautiful scenery and landscapes to discover, we wholeheartedly recommend exploring County Derry, even in the cold, winter months. Here’s how to stay warm while you’re out.

Heat your base layers

Heating up your base layers on the radiator before you go out is a very good hack to start your walk off warm and toasty! This way you’re warm from the get go and that warmth can hopefully carry you through the majority of your walk.

Take extra layers

The key to staying warm on a winter walk is layering up. Lightweight but warm layers are easy to wear or carry in a bag if you get too warm. A lightweight waterproof jacket easily fits in a bag and can be a lifesaver if it starts to snow or rain.

Swap your gloves for mittens

While they may not be as functional as gloves, mittens actually keep your hands and fingers warmer than gloves. And you’ll soon get used to them! Mittens keep your hands warmer than gloves because the heat from all your fingers will work together, sharing the warmth between them. 

Avoid overheating

Overheating is something that you might not even consider when the weather is cold. But sweating is one of the easiest ways to get cold when out walking. To combat this make sure you’re wearing breathable layers such as Merino wool base layers. These work best as they naturally wick sweat away from your skin. 

Fill up a flask

A flask full of hot coffee (maybe even Irish coffee?) or soup is a great way to add some warmth to your body when you’re on a little pit stop during a chilly winter walk. And make sure you’ve got a full belly - good food can help keep you warm.

Take care of your toes

There’s nothing worse than being out walking and having freezing cold toes. It ruins your day! Make sure you’re wearing waterproof insulated walking shoes or boots - getting wet feet is an instant regret! Our extremities get the coldest when the temperature drops and so we need to take extra care when out walking. You might even want to double up on the socks.

For ideas of where to go walking, read our natural wonders of Northern Ireland post.