Goodbye, old friends...

I bought these hiking boots years ago from Shoe Zone for the ridiculous price of something like £5. They are unbelievably comfortable, I've never had a blister from them and they're waterproof - possibly my best buy ever.

They have literally been around the world with me - from Snowdonia to South Africa, from East Asia to the Everglades - but today my muddy socks left no doubt that their life has now come to an end.

I have other boots but none are anywhere near as good as these. I don't know what I'll do without them, it's definitely the end of an era.

I've put a photo of the lake we walked to today in the extras.