Your description has just chilled me to the bone! (Though I’m sure others will find it poetic and romantic!) Right now I’m in bed under 2 down duvets with a hot water bottle at my feet and the window open a tiny bit. Very cosy but its only September!! 
y’all are starting to terrify me. i’ve been spending winters recently in southern Spain and that’s as cold as I’ve gotten. Now I’m spending all winter in England and am starting to brace myself. I have a list of things to buy ranging from a cozy dressing gown to new shoes because mine are actually just cloth and soak through in about 10 seconds when it’s wet out. 
@CreatureCuddler Top priority in the UK are Wellies!! (Wellington boots). I have proper walking boots but it rains so much and gets so muddy that wellies are much more ‘all purpose’. You also need a good rain jacket, hot water bottle and an umbrella. And I wear furry UGG boots as my house shoes- too many country mansions in the UK have cold stone floors! Oh also don’t forget your scarf, gloves, wool jumpers and thermal underwear!! I hope I’m not putting you off but we did winter in the UK last year so I know what I’m talking about!! 
P.s We also did one winter in Denia, Spain and it was a bit like English summer!!! Except with more sun!!
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We’re in - and from - the UK. It was 6 degrees here yesterday morning and rose to 13 degrees in the afternoon, but we’ve not put the heating on (though the pet parents have said we can). We prefer to just layer up and we’re fine (we still have the windows open). That said, we’re in a modern property which is well insulated and that surely makes a huge difference.
We did a sit earlier this year in a big old house with high ceilings. There was snow on the ground when we arrived so we had the heating on (there were 2 boilers, both in use) but were still absolutely freezing! It was so cold, we just huddled by the log burner in a single room by day when we were in the property (wearing many layers, hats on or hoods up, and socks plus slippers) and went to bed early, just in an attempt to keep warm. Even going to the bathroom along the hallway made us feel chilled. We swore we wouldn’t be tempted to do a sit in a very large, old property again during the winter months.
Such an interesting conversation.
Depending of which part the world we are from, there are some habits we apply and don’t even think they could be that much different somewhere else. I am from Québec, Canada. We heat with electricity produced by important water dams. We have a lot. We sell some to north states of USA.
We do have winters, sometimes quite cold, and the only concerns related to heating is at peak times. We are asked for exemple not to start dishwashers, washing ou drying machines at supper time when everybody is coming back from work and needs electricity. We are also asked to keep the temperature at 20C or 21C - . Far from the 16 degrees we are discussing here. I am personally comfortable at 19-
@CreatureCuddler We have done sits in U.K. last two winters. Including a couple when it snowed . When we sent photo updates of their pets / gardens in the snow the hosts all checked in with us to make sure that we were warm enough indoors .
It was the rain that caused more issues than the cold . For several months the local dog walks in the local fields were not possible due to the extreme mud because exceptionally heavy rain fall during last winter .
Definitely you will need waterproof boots - wellies and a waterproof coat with hood if your sit involves dog walking .
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Yeah, I’ve been thinking I’d get some short wellies or duck boots vs the tall ones. Then I can wear them with normal pants (trousers, to be clear ) without looking too insane. I have a good rain coat I got in the peaks a few years ago and I picked up a ski coat last month at a charity shop that I’m having cleaned and I’ll get some waterproof spray to treat it again. So that should keep me warm and dry. Wishing I’d grabbed some of the cute wooly gloves that I saw all over the Highlands this summer, but I’ll just pop into H&M or whatever and get some gloves/hat/scarf. I’ll probably hit a charity shop for more layers as currently I only have yoga pants. 
Or maybe I’ll hit the decathlon up the road before I hop the ferry in a couple weeks. I do have fleece lined hard soled slippers with me, so my inside toes are taken care of. And I have some nice thick socks to wear.
I did grow up in Chicago back when there were actual winters, so I know how to do them, it’s just been 15-20 years since I spent more than a couple days doing winter. lol
ETA: I also already have plans for an electric blanket and hot water bottle. They’re in my Amazon cart as I type and will be purchased on arrival. 
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Same, 5 weeks in a grade II listed home. Even the Aga couldn’t keep it warm. We spent as much time as we could get away with in front of the village pub fire after a long dog walk. Then would go back and huddle in front of the log fire in the snug until bed time. Never again! Small newish well insulated homes if in the UK this winter!
Definitely needed our thermals and hats!
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I think this is the spirit of THS - an exchange of goodwills, wishing the best for each parties
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Gosh, it’s 90 to 105F here in Northern California right now. PGE is shutting down power in some areas to avoid wildfires sparked from power poles during high winds. We are also asked not to use power in case of system overload. 16 sounds pretty nice right now! Thankfully I live near the coast and have solar, but it’s offline because someone crashed into a power pole this morning Sometimes you can’t win. Given the devastation from Hurricane Helene, I’m content to hunker down, eat ice cream, and be grateful for a roof and running water.
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Thankfully I just have a giant cat, so I can just hybernate when the weather is particularly ugly. I only sit dogs in the UK between late May and mid September.
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Don’t forget that food can help keep you warm - porridge is a good slow release food, no wonder it’s connected with Scotland!
Hi @ICRag
I’m based out of London UK and have been in my apartment the last 10 days since returning from a sit in Spain. It’s been unusually cold the last few days so depending on where you are sitting in the UK the temperature should rise a bit this week.
For future reference there can be a huge difference in temperature in the South of the UK to northern places. My father lives near the coast in the north east and it can be 7-8 degrees colder there than London plus you can get a cool breeze from the sea that makes the temperature feel cooler.
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That’s typical of where I’m from too. I’ve lived most of my life in northern states (Michigan, Wisconsin) where below zero temps are common in the winter. Setting the heat at about 20C during the day and turning down to about 17-18C at night is common and recommended. I would be very uncomfortable staying in a home that is only heated to 15 or 16.
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Am also a hardy Brit (who yes lives overseas now but lived all over the UK for years) & 16 is freezing for me too! 19 at least as an ambient temp please peeps. #toocoldforme
@ICRag
Sorry that you are going though this. I have been in such situations where I was very cold and nobody cared. It is distressing.
I am sorry to read the harsh replies you got as well. Yes, you could have checked out the heating situation, but the host could have been clearer as well. Either way, if you are too cold, it is mean and unkind of the host if they do not find a solution that makes you more comfortable.
Have you found a solution yet? Maybe a portable electric heater from a hardware shop? (Edit - just saw that you have already left. Bet you are relieved!)
I am currently in England too and the host has invited me to use the heating freely. Which I do when I am cold, not all day and night obviously.
I am toasty warm and know she won’t give me grief about cost.
Hosts need to be kind and care about the well-being of their pet sitters. If not, hopefully they will get bad reviews and no more sitters will come to them.
The posts here that scold the OP for not doing research or go on about 16 C being a reasonable temperature, chill me to the bones much more than houses without heating.
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I have checked all the posts and I honestly can’t find anyone scolding the OP. Maybe a not very empathetic tone and it’s true the topic has turned a bit more into temperatures that are felt “reasonable” in different places and for different people and winter attire. I agree that may make @ICRag feel a bit abandoned in their request for help. I apologize if I have in any way contributed to that feeling. Feeling cold, having health issues associated to that and not having help to deal with the situation is something to be taken seriously.
That said, I think that lots of good advice was given and the discussion has evolved in a natural way. Sometimes, that advice is only applied for future sits or to improve sit selection, to help to better understand THS code or cultural differences interpreting situations.
@ICRag, you might consider mentioning the difficulties in keeping a comfortable temperature (lack of control and need of ventilation) in your review. I do hope you are feeling better now and can enjoy the rest of your sit. Best wishes.
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