We have gone all Covid and booked local for a small cottage in Millers Dale, end of September.
I don’t know much at all about this area (my days in the wild were always N Yorks moors).
I know one or two here enjoy the air, and may know the best places to visit / walk.
The limitations are that it’s the wife and me, and small dogs, so it’s going to confined to the two or three hour, less arduous ambles.
On another note, I used to have a lovely pair of leather walking boots (very traditional type).
I keep meaning to buy some more for this type of thing but I’m lost as to what type (not make).
I can’t see past leather, but most seem to be lighter material nowadays and there is soo much choice.
I suspect I need a shoe/ankle type thing with a waterproof membrane. Leather?
I am a big fan of trail running shoes for walking in. Lightweight so helps massively on long walks, not waterproof so your feet don’t sit in a bucket of your own sweat. Plus ankle support is bad long term, it’s why you don’t see rugby boots with high ankles now and most walking shoes except mountaineering shoes are low ankle too.
You want strong muscles from using your ankle, not weak muscles from having the ankles supported all the time.
About 15 years ago I changed from (many pairs of) leather walking boots to Goretex lined fabric boots. Ok, they’re possibly not as durable as leather but the increase in comfort outweighs that by some distance.
If you have a history of ankle damage (what happened in my left ankle isn’t ever going to recover, according to NHS Podiatry’s musculo-skeletal people) and if you don’t walk regularly enough to build up strong muscles then when you do go out for a week or two’s walking you might find that support in that time of unusual strain can help. If your gait tends towards supination, so your ankles are already inclined towards being ‘turned’, then that’s another reason for giving them some protection.
Just my two penn’orth of course. There are very many factors which affect our needs. The waterproof or not thing is also very personal. I don’t know how sweaty you are Steve, or whether the end of Sept will make it worse. But I don’t like squelching along with the contents of the last 3 miles’ freezing puddles soaked into my socks. So I’m inclined towards the waterproof end of things. That doesn’t necessarily mean leather though.
Thanks Dave.
Always best to get a recommendation, rather than google and end up on some tourist trap excuse for a shopping trip.
I suspect I’ll go for a shoe, with goretex or similar, as it can be a general dog walk item to get the value from it. I’ve made do with Trickers tramping type shoes for too long!
This pic was taken at the top of Pen-Y-Ghent during the last Settle weekend
It goes to show you can walk in anything if you’re so minded . We all got up and we all got down again. My leather Alt Bergs are at 11 o’clock. I’ve done 20 miles in them each week since, pretty much.
It sounds like a serious camapign has made a lot of difference. Good. Steve could decide to do that too. But probably not before he gets out onto unfamiliar terrain in 4-5 weeks or so.
I’ve been on the 20 miles a week plan since the second half of 2015. Very early on my right foot went down an unseen rabbit hole in near darkness. It hurt, and the ankle was, technically, sprained. But I walked more than 4 miles home on it. The problem we have, of course, is that we don’t know what would have happened if we’d been wearing the other type of shoes. For what it’s worth, apart from that one incident I haven’t hurt either ankle noticeably in the last 4,000 miles or so either. The soles of my feet, and to some extent the bones of the forefoot, have been more trouble. But that’s not really down to the design of the boots’ uppers.
Fair enough, I’m a bit more gung ho carried on walking with avulsion fractures (from martial arts not walking) and when I last broke a toe they found two other brakes and a bit of floating bone I didn’t know about from the past.
The leather vs fabric really is a matter of personal taste. I prefer leather properly waxed with no waterproof membrane. My boots are as waterproof as my walking companions who use membrane lined boots but I don’t get trench-foot from the sweat that inevitably builds up inside the boot and my feet are cooler (which I much prefer). In addition, a membrane lined boot takes ages to dry out when it does get wet.
The best advice I can give you is to go to a proper outdoor shop who can give you proper boot or shoe fitting advice. You may get that at a shed but I would be pleasantly surprised. The best boot or shoe is the one that fits your feet. Don’t get hung up on brand. Get something that fits.
Thanks.
There was a long thread about boots (not shoes I think) but I can’t find it.
Long term I think I’d want a decent leather boot that fits, like you say. To replace what I had years ago.
Now, just a click and buy to see me through the wet walks and dog trips. I may nip into cotswold outdoors and have a play about.
They do all seem to he much of a muchness.
I’ve ruined a few pairs of cheap trainers with the mutts.
The sandals are mine! I’ve walked up some fairly decent mountains in sandals, both with and without socks. If you’re only going a few miles and in good weather, you don’t need much, just comfort.
IMO leather walking boots are for young people’s walks and Graeme. Anything I’m likely to do I’d do in half decent squashy comfy walking shoes. My kids don’t walk far, five miles max, so that’s my limit, and proper walking boots would end up taking me a decade to break in.
It’s worth going to a good shop, asking their expertise and considering insoles. Be honest with them about your walking, and buy the most comfy.
I have a congenital defect in both ankles, and been in physio since i was about 5 years old. I roll my ankles 3 maybe 4 times per year. I have had several surgeries to reattach ligaments. When I was diagnosed aged 5, I was told I would be reliant on a wheel chair from my mid 20s.
I do constant strengthening exercises to stave off the inevitable major surgery on both.
The only way for me to prevent major injury is to wear supports or high boots.
What works for some doesn’t always work for others.
Weve walked about 4 miles today, one ankle aches the other is pretty sore. For the moment the best shoes for me are OnRunning, trail running shoes with ankle supports. High shoes are proving difficult for me ATM due to the amount of swelling I get.
Had a trip to the Rab factory shop (Alfreton area) as well. Used to be dirt cheap and a secret. Full blown factory outlet type of place now.
Some good trousers at about half price. Loads of fleeces and shells.
. We all got up and we all got down again. My leather Alt Bergs are at 11 o’clock. I’ve done 20 miles in them each week since, pretty much.
lol, I remember seeing that photo when you guys got back, I wish I could have made that walk, but MASSIVE hangover said otherwise!