Bushwalk Australia

I am investigating footwear options for a planned walk of the UK's (Wainright's Coast to Coast Walk Trail) where I am assuming the walking conditions are touch wetter from my normal experience here in Western Australia

I see a lot of mentions of boots in discussions about the Coast to Coast Walk Trail and I haven't walked here in WA in boots for years and well haven't done much walking for a few years either having got more into bicycling touring/bikepacking. All that said we are looking at doing the Coast to Coast probably next UK summer so starting to explore the gear upgrades I need: shoes being the first.

Here in WA I have been using a pair of New Balance MO889GR but not sure they would be up to the rigors of the Lake Districts. I also have a pair of Scarpa Crux approach shoes which I actually use for cycling.

I am wondering if the Scarpa's would tick the box or is there a better option today?

I did the coast to coast in a pair of cheap "waterproof walking shoes" that I got from a budget outdoors shop (Mountain Equipment) for £30. They did the job perfectly. They were like a cross between running shoes and boots.

Walked across Scotland twice. First was in Scarpa boots, but moved on to Salomon X Ultra Mid.

Definitely prefer lighter and more flexible footwear.

Take good sun protection Andrew.
I got the worst sunburn I've ever had when staying in the UK.
Through the hair and even my scalp was burnt.

I walked the Portuguese Caminho last year, and wore Scarpa Gore-tex mid-weight, non-leather boots (Kailash model, I think) and lower cut Gore-Tex shoes. I forget the model, but they were something like these http://www.paddypallin.com.au/scarpa-vortex-gore-tex-shoe.html If you search around and take your time you can get these at very competitive prices.

Both were fantastic in the warm, and on cobbles, road, dirt and mud. And they also coped very well in the cooler, wetter weather in Galicia. To be honest I didn't need the ankle support of the Kailash, but they ended up being my favourites - just so comfortable. That said, some people - including my wife - find Scarpa too narrow. I did plenty of local practice walking to make sure they would work well for a long distance walk.

Enjoy your walk, and all the fun of preparing and anticipating!

cheers

Peter

Thanks for the feedback. Good to know boots are no longer required ... will do some walking in my Scarpa's and decide if they are for me or I should get something else. Thanks also @Aidan for the tip on sunscream. That one hadn't occurred to me.

Hi Andrew
We have walked across the UK in several directions - in the rain too (Wales is WET). Joggers were fine.

Cheers
Roger

I rarely wear boots. In fact right now I'm posting from Weymouth, where I'm walking the South West Coast Path. I'm wearing Dunlop Volleys and Dunlop KT-26s, alternating day-by-day, and they suit me perfectly for this walk.

But for the coast-to-coast, particularly the western half through the Lake District, it was nice not to have wet feet all day, day after day. If it's not the mud, it's the long wet grass, the bogs, or the unjumpable puddles. Sorry, I got the supplier name wrong in my previous post, it should be Mountain Warehouse not Mountain Equipment. Here are the £30 waterproof shoes which I used for the coast-to-coast:

https://www.mountainwarehouse.com/curle ... t%20brown/

But whatever you wear, you'll have a great trip. On a Sunday, you sometimes even see ladies in dress shoes going out onto the fells for a short walk to "take the air"

I have walked the C2C twice - the last time was just over 12 months ago. The first time I wore Scarpa leather boots plus Scarpa gortex shoes; the last time I wore La Sportiva Wildcats, https://www.sportiva.com/wildcat.html
The wildcats were perfect for the C2C - yes you may get wet feet but they were certainly better than the Scarpa Gortex shoes which filled with water so it felt like it was walking in a puddle. Most of the walk is fine underfoot - the only really tricky bit is at Nine Standards Rigg and it can be so boggy there that it doesn't matter what you wear. I used hiking poles on both occasions - I recommend using them. It is a great walk - I wanted to turn around and do it again. Are you camping or bnbing? If the latter there are some very good luggage transfer companies available.

Watertank wrote:I used hiking poles on both occasions - I recommend using them. It is a great walk - I wanted to turn around and do it again. Are you camping or bnbing? If the latter there are some very good luggage transfer companies available.

Thanks for your feedback. We plan to use poles, Anne already has a pair from walking in Nepal and I will need to get a pair as my old ones have moved on. We will be B&B ... Anne is not a camper Will probably make use of either Packhorse or Shepa for the luggage transfer.

I think I will go with my Scarpa Cruz shoes. Might look into "waterproof" socks but then my experience with SealSkinz on the bike was of riding in a bath. Maybe wearing gaiters will help here.

Oh what sort of timeframe did you take to walk the C2C? We are looking at an easy 15 days with maybe a rest day or two to take in a few local sights.

rcaffin wrote:Hi Andrew
We have walked across the UK in several directions - in the rain too (Wales is WET). Joggers were fine.

Thanks Roger.

ribuck wrote:I rarely wear boots. In fact right now I'm posting from Weymouth, where I'm walking the South West Coast Path. I'm wearing Dunlop Volleys and Dunlop KT-26s, alternating day-by-day, and they suit me perfectly for this walk.

I am jealous

Aushiker, happy to share any knowledge and tips and my schedule if you would like to PM me,
Cheers

Watertank wrote:Aushiker, happy to share any knowledge and tips and my schedule if you would like to PM me,
Cheers

Thanks. Done.

Andrew