You don’t need an epic two week holiday to feel like a new person. At London Sock Company, we believe that a long weekend escape can be all you need to recharge, restore your sense of adventure and explore a new location, even if it is one just a few miles from home. Whether you are planning a cultured city mini-break, a short dash to some accessible sunshine or a staycation to appreciate somewhere closer to home, you want to make you have packed all you’ll need. We’ve put together a few of our top long weekend essentials to help you pack smart and make the most of your days off.
In order to pack perfectly for a long weekend, you need the right bag. Large enough to fit everything you need in, but small enough to fit overhead or underfoot and be carried around with minimal fuss and effort. Stubble & Co.’s stylish weekend bag is hard to beat.
Crafted from quality waterproofed canvas and natural full grain leather, it features a 15″ laptop pocket (not that you’ll be doing any work) and handy outer pockets for easy-to-grab items like phones, wallet and e-readers. We love it in olive, but you can also choose from black or navy.
Avoid the inevitable pre-holiday sock drawer ‘blind grab’ where you end up with a mismatch of pairs and and let us help. London Sock Company’s brand new sock bundles are made up from five or seven complementary pairs, making sure you’ll have the right sock style to take you through your long weekend.
Embrace the holidays with the Colourful Week bundle of brights, or go for Mixed Week for cool combo of colours and classics to cover all bases. Fancy a box? Spring it on with Blocks & Blooms or Lighter Step.
No matter where you are going – the beaches of Barcelona or Brighton, the streets of New York or Newcastle – you’ll be hoping for a bit of sunshine. But a stylish pair of sunnies are a must have accessory whatever the weather. British eyewear brand Finlay & Co. are known for serving up frames designed to champion individuality and rebellious spirit.
We love the Parker, one from Finlay’s newest collection. Available in a variety of colours, these are a contemporary take on a classic shape. The sophisticated metal profile and bold brow line will elevate your look wherever you are.
For towels designed with travel in mind, look no further than Dock & Bay. Their stylish microfibre towels are quick drying (three-times faster than a normal cotton towel, to be exact), lightweight and compact, making them ideal for long weekend space-saving.
Chuck in your bag for beach days (don’t worry, sand also won’t stick to them), or for rolling out for some impromptu lazing in a park. You can’t go wrong with one of their signature striped Cabana towels, available in large and extra large. We’d pick one in Bondi Blue.
Take your tunes on your travels with the Wonderboom Bluetooth speaker from Ultimate Ears. This small but mighty super-portable speaker is waterproof, dustproof and shockproof, built for life on the road so you can bring your soundtrack with you no matter where you go. Connect wirelessly via Bluetooth and control from up to 30m away plus enjoy up to 10 hours of non-stop music with the rechargeable battery.
As an added bonus, you can choose from a rainbow of colours.
Heading somewhere that your A-Level ‘Franglais’ won’t be very useful? Fear not. When it comes to translation apps, it would be hard to find one that comes close to the power of Google Translate. Supporting more languages than any other app on the market, its huge range of features make it well-suited to use on-the-move by travellers and its available for Apple or Android. You can even translate menus, signs and other written content using your phone’s camera.
It’s also worth keeping an eye on Google’s next frontier of translation tech via its Pixel Buds. Google’s wireless headphones promise real-time translation in your ear through the Google Assistant. While user reviews so far suggest that there is a way to go before they are more use than the app itself, the future looks pretty cool.
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