Bikepacking - a viable alternative to racks & panniers

what outside temperature would you be wanting to sleep with a bivvy+sleepy bag or a tarp tent?

Largely depend on the sleeping bag really, it's entirely possible to sleep in a bivvy in winter, the question is; do you want to?

Probably not, its more of a 'is it ever warm enough in england too'

I think it's more "is it ever cold enough in England?", after seeing some photos of a couple of people surrounded by snow in Alaska.

fair.

Now to figure best way to attach shit to my talbot

Check out alpkit if you're on a budget.

deffo a saddle bag, does there exist a decent sized front handle bar bag, mainly to store food and a camera?

I'm mainly looking to do 2-3 nights, where i can stock up on food wherever I end up and try get in a pub lunch daily

2-3 night is a picnic, hell an average Carradice saddlebag and a framebag would be enough to last you a week.

hopefully straps on the toptube arent thick enough to interfere with the tt cable routing

Run a cable housing in between the two stop that'll prevent friction on the cable.

any ideas on front bag?

Not sure but Inujirushi make a similar bag. (in cotton canvas)

If going with a single bag, I'd recommend a frame bag before a bar bag. Enough space in there, better handling and less hipster look.

^^ nice picture btw

More of a front bag than bar bag up there, since it's weight rests on a rack.

Still I assume that it affects handling more than a frame bag. Probably not enough to care though.

Oh it would, just not as badly as a bag that literally hangs from the bar.

Pretty much, and tend to be lighter too.

its a berthoud, pricey.

Custom-made?
Doesn't your talbot have quite a small head tube?

tiny, which is why most bags are gna be too tall

I would just get a small toiletry bag like the North Face one and use strap to hang it on the bar, enough for money, camera and what not.

Or the alpkit harness thingy which can be made to fit any size bag/cockpit

Add toestrap, which will work as well as this, for a lots less money;

Rogan - is this for a particular trip or with a view to getting yourself set up for this kind of riding / camping? If it is the former, I've a carradice bar bag that you are welcome to borrow: http://www.carradice.co.uk/index.php?page_id=product&under=range&product_id=53

the latter, cheers for the offer though! I need to get more miles in before i think about it properly