Ode to my old walking boots

I've been meaning to post this for a while, a tribute to my old leather walking boots, lovingly nicknamed "Shackeltons Boots" by my walking partners. Almost every word is true, the boots were about £20, and did many many miles in the Lakes, Moors, and Dales, even venturing to Scotland and Wales. Boots were made to last in them days - and there was still good eating to be had out of them when I retired them last year. Boot soup anyone?

An ode to Martins Walking Boots – in loving memory of the boots I bought age 17 and which have given me 25 years sterling service covering countless miles.

I bought my boots in ‘86

I think they cost me about £16.96 (+VAT)

A whole weeks wages in those distant years

A worthy investment despite my worse fears

Forget their looks now, they weren’t second hand

They were new off the shelf and they fitted just grand

They were state of the art

With their strong leather upper

And looked ever so smart

With soles made of black rubber

Gaudy yellow laces with go faster striping

And comfortable insoles with anti slip piping

Ben Nevis, Helvelyn, Three Peaks and Sca Fell

They took me to Heaven and often through Hell

In Scotland and Wales they withstood the test

But back home here in Yorkshire they gave me their best

O’er miles on the moors they withstood all weather

And beat off the newcoming light as a feather

Gortex and nylon and new fangled fabrics

No old fashioned laces just Velcro elastics

Never a leak, never a squeak

As they ploughed through each valley

And took on each peak,

Plugging through mud, and splashing through beck,

Resting in t’ pub at the end of the trek

For so many years they served with good grace,

And every adventure they took in their pace

But time marched on, they now look out of place

Whilst their modern equivalents look like they’re from space

Yes fashions do change and they are wearing down

The soles hold no grip and they’re no longer brown

The leather is faded, the stitching is split

starting to decay, walking through so much shit

the soles are so thin after so many miles

and the look of my boots raises so many smiles

Comments about visiting the Antiques Roadshow

“They’ll be worth something, someday, to someone you know!”

Yes, the boots I admit have now seen better days

And If I can see clear through my rose tinted haze

I’ll admit that they’re heavy and clumsy and old

But they really have proved their weights worth in gold

Because trust me on this one, brothers and sisters,

In all of those miles they only once gave me blisters!

The time has come now to lay them to rest

So please get me new ones made of Gortex