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I have done a few long walks, but I would still call myself a novice when it comes to hiking. I’m still learning about different equipment and what works for me, but I want to share what I have learned so far about walking boots to try and help other beginners who are getting into walking and hiking.

Wow, we were almost there! One last day of walking to reach Ivinghoe Beacon and the sun had come out too!

Despite the windy conditions I slept very well that night, obviously needing the rest, and woke up feeling much better. My brother-in-law offered me his spare pair of walking shoes. I looked at my own boots and shuddered at the thought of putting them back on again and said yes to the loaned shoes. They were so much more comfortable straight away.

Watlington was quite a charming little village the first time we drove through it, but after driving back and forth doing the car shuffle we realised it would probably be better if there was a bypass of some sort. The streets were very narrow and couldn’t really cope with the large 4x4’s driving through it.

We had set up camp in Crowmarsh Gifford the night before and walked into Wallingford to explore. As we crossed over the river Thames, we saw it was in flood, flowing quite fast. A barge had got stuck on the bank when the river was higher and was half in the water and half on the river bank. On the other side, the riverside footpath looked very wet.