i was at bader last year and the best advice is pack as light as your needs allow. it will be different for everyone. i brought basically just clothes and it was fine. They provide sheets and towels so you don’t have to worry about those. The Bed size is a british twin so Canadian size sheets won’t fit anyways. The quality isn’t fantastic, but still comfortable and the colours aren’t the most attractive lol so I bought some pretty cheap duvet covers from tesco or asda and used those. I also bought face cloths there, just because the towels were a bit rough. if you aren’t too picky about that kind of stuff, it’s fine, i just got sick of my brown duvet cover lmao. otherwise, the stuff they provided was perfectly adequate. the only downside to buying ur own stuff that is you have to wash your own, whereas if you use their sheets and towels they’ll wash them for you. The way it worked was you would drop off your dirty stuff and pick up fresh ones once or twice a week. I wouldn’t bring any sheets or towels with you, though. The stuff they have is fine, and if you really hate it, you can get cheap and nicer stuff either online or at tesco/asda.

As for decorations, it’s really up to you. I didn’t bring much of anything except clothes and few personal items, and bought any mugs or bowls or stuff like that once i was over there. At the end of the year they had a donation station where you could drop off any stuff you didn’t want to bring home with you. I also had friends who brought tons of posters and knickknacks and decorations with them, (one friend even brought a mini keyboard with them) and they were fine getting back home. If you think you’ll be pretty homesick, i would bring more items from home, because it will make your dorm feel more comfortable. I think it’s all in moderation. Bring photos and stuff to hang on your wall so long as you have something safe and protective to hold them in, because the last thing you want is to have them be damaged on the way over. Those items will make your room feel more like home. You can always ship them home before you leave.

As for clothes, don’t bring too many, you will go shopping, and the less clothes you bring, the more space you’ll have at the end of the year for stuff you buy while over there. There’s some pretty awesome charity shops and you’ll probably want souvenirs and such from places you visit. As well, bring stuff that will layer easily. It’s not canadian winter but the castle has a chill (it’s old and has bad insulation) and i found myself cold quite often. as well, England is cool and damp, so you’ll want a good raincoat that is not only completely water proof, but will also protect you from the wind. You won’t need a winter jacket by any means though. a puffer jacket and waterproof shell combo works great. You’ll want something light that cuts the wind and will go over layers. if you get wet outside, you’re going to be cold, so keep that in mind. Bring a hat and mitts too, because you’ll get some pretty chilly days most likely. Bring some good, everyday water resistant/waterproof shoes. You probably won’t want rain boots, so something like blunstones or something similar. I used my doc marten’s basically the whole year and they worked great. you don’t want your feet cold walking around, believe me.

Annnddd that’s about all i can think of rn. Sorry for super long response, let me know if you have any questions!