The body of a man found on the Gower Peninsula who lived 29,000 years ago had shoes on.....

In my experience, even in tropical countries where many people habitually go barefoot, very few do so from choice.

Mostly, it is because they are too poor to afford even basic sandals or shoes. The soles of their feet are a lot tougher than someone who wears footwear. But, they are still liable to cuts and punctures from broken glass, sharp rocks, metal, vegetation etc. - and the resulting infections can be very serious. Also, the unprotected edges of the foot, instep, and between the toes are very vulnerable to injury. I have seen this first hand in Nepal and India. I also saw a barefoot hippy in India who had sustained a really bad foot injury on a nice sandy beach. (There was a concealed broken bottle)

So, in my view, romantic ideas about "natural, barefoot wild walking" sound really great... until you hurt yourself.

Even Steve Gough wears boots and socks...

This is another fad which will come and go I think. It's Ok for the sandy beach and grassy/boggy areas but no where else. The idea is good but on mixed terrain useless, But if determined enough the feet will harden, Just beware of ice! And snow, Hopefully we have learnt since the Romans.

Me and my brothers found as kids when we started out on the beach at Hornsea it took just a few days of the summer hols before we were able to walk lightly over the stones and then laugh at the tourists!

The South Wales Group organised a two day walking and camping trip in the Elenydd region of mid Wales on the 18th and 19th October. This is wilderness country with saturated boggy moorland, tussock grass which dumps the unwary into the marsh below, drovers' tracks with vertiginous ascents (we encountered one...at the bottom end of course) and unbridged river crossings too wide to jump. Such was the case with the Afon Pysgotwr Fawr, normally easy to cross but so in spate on this occasion that it came well above knee height. Walking in wet boots and socks is anathema to me although I have no issue with crossing rivers barefoot when required. This river was rock strewn and therefore far too dangerous to cross barefoot so it was socks off, boots back on, wade across, empty water out of boots, replace, (minus socks) and resume walking. Half a minute later I tottered to a halt, hastily removed very uncomfortable boots and deployed Matthew's Method for walking by forgoing footwear altogether and progressing onwards barefoot. I only walked for a quarter mile this way but can report that it was a refreshing experience with rocks, sharp heather and sheep deposits the only hazards. It was only feasible at this time of year due to the mild weather. Of course, if one's footwear was to ever disintegrate en route then being familiar with this method of travel would be most useful!

Feet are now hardening up quite well, I cope quite well with walks out a few miles and have now started to add a little jogging to the outings. But there is a lot of ground that I will not be able to cover - at any pace.

There is also the matter of "winter", this is going to be an issue, whether hard, frozen ground or simply flipping cold feet! Not sure how I will be coping with that, probably just doing the best I can and going out barefoot when feasible.

Yesterday I ordered a pair of "Huaraches", principal of the Mexican sandals that the Tarahumara indians run in, from this company in US: http://www.invisibleshoe.com/store/ should be interesting to see how they go, and at around $25 a time far cheaper than all the fancy minimalist shoes one can buy in the UK. I'm hoping these will give me that little bit of protection I need to cope with rougher terrain. Matt.

I know why they invented shoes with treads ..........because walking down a wet grassy hillside is very slippery, and you fall over and bruise your bum. Time after time.

Jane says a woman most probably invented shoes, it's something to do with intelligence she says!

Matt.

Maybe "inventing" shoes, of a very basic kind (made from natural materials, like the bark) was how humans expanded their range over the world. Same principal as clothes. No shoes or clothes were fine in some climates and terrain and still are, but if they wanted to extend their range to the rougher mountains, or cloder climate or parasite and snake infested jungles they needed some form of foot protection.

On a nice hot summers day there is no reason why we shouldn't all walk round completely naked (having added plenty of suncream!) and shoeless, but only shoeless is a practical (and legal) option, as the Naked Rambler is aware.

Naked & Shoeless 25 mile challenge event sometime????
Matt.

Scorpions, snakes, poisonous spiders. When I lived in the tropics for a short while - folks were making shoes from a tree bark. It was preferable [so I was told] to avoid having a worm that one could aquire from bare foot walking - but I'm not sure if that was hearsay. Certainly if local folks could get hold of a pair of sandals they were delighted - but the terrain was different to say sandy desert/open grasslands. Maybe the drivers towards shoes is more about climate/surroundings. Eskimos made shoes - it would be jolly cold without them!

By past- I mean ancient history!

So if we all walked barefooted before in the past- why did we adopt footwear then?

What was the advantage then that we took it up, given that it cost in terms time of labour and resources in the distant past?

As a child I never wore shoes during school holidays, possibly why my feet are so broad and I destroy trainers so fast? I simply went everywhere barefoot, normal.

Going back to it now, after an adult lifetime of shoe wearing, is the immediate noticeable difference in gait. Take your shoes off and walk along some tarmac as usual. After a very few paces you notice the "heel strike" which we all have when wearing shoes. This judders through the joints and is impossible to maintain barefoot (unless masochist) I quickly adjusted to a totally different foot strike on the ground. Foot for thought!

This reminds me of my hippy days. I went barefoot then- but only grass and concrete. But even as kids ( we lived on the coast), for the first week of summer holidays we skipped gingerly over Hornsea beach of shingle/stones. But after that it didn't bother us- we could walk it as though it was sand!

So the skin soon adjusts. And think- no lost toenails! Mind you I did break a toe as a kid when I stubbed my foot on a rock- so that's a risk.

Is this a passing fad I wonder? We shall see. Mind you- the price of shoes and boots these days I will soon be joining the current trend!

Good luck and keep us posted. There are no limits - look at the distances certain folks in Africa/Australia walk with no shoes - but their feet have been 'trained' from childhood.

I take it "Barefoot" isn't going to catch on fast within the LDWA? What a boring old lot you are, all you old walkers on a pitance of a pension (as I will be in 4 weeks time), just think of the money you could save each year on trainers and boots.

Seriously, it does intrigue me as to what is feasible, total barefoot rather than minimal shoes, I realise there are serious limitations. But what are they? Certainly running fast over some ground (fell stuff) is out, as are prickly gorse, very rough gravel etc.

So far I've started from total scratch, and doing some local walks to see how it goes, very slow and easy (5 minutes) on tarmac to start, I guess in 5 weeks training, I'm up to 2+ hours on Elan valley (soft stuff) and done about 1 hour on North Rhinogs - very slow and carefull! I always carry my shoes with me and slip them on when needed. Breakfast time I take 5 minutes to remove the previous days thorns from my feet, before going to work - Jane finds this immensly amusing!!

Very interesting how my feet have started to change and adapt already, I shall carry on slowly and see what happens - probably grind to a halt with the cold weather. Taken much info from this site (he even looks the part). http://barefootkenbob.com/

Anyone want to join me, it is quite liberating feeling the squelch of sheep poo between ones toes, I haven't done dog or badger yet, will let you know.
Matt.

Plenty of people walk up this hill barefooted. And before you ask, no I did it in trainers. I don't have any sin's to forgive anyhow. ;-)

http://sacredsites.com/europe/ireland/mt_croach_patrick.html

ian.

This could develop into a very interesting thread.
Take a look at the Vivobarefoot web site ( vivobarefoot.com )
Watch the videos and read about the research.
Seems to make sense.
I?ve often thought giving them a try, but never dared !
Has anyone used them in the great outdoors ?

Are there any barefoot walkers out there? I wondered if there are any members who regularly walk barefoot - I'm refering to the "full monty" barefoot as opposed to wearing minimal trainers or sandals etc. How far and what terrain can you manage? Has anyone completed a barefoot 100? If not, there's a challenge, no nasty hotspots or blisters to worry about, probably no soles on your feet at the end either!!!

Interested to hear any sightings or info - as I've started going barefoot and wondering what is feasible in the long run (pun). Not sure how long this will continue into winter though.
Matt (or "Potty Moley" as Jane now calls me).