I grew up on a farm in Cumbria, and I was quite a wild little girl. I wandered around freely and the minute I got to a hay meadow or fell I’d take my shoes off …
Barefoot walking is extremely beneficial. It’s low impact and it makes you more aware of your movements and your body. It strengthens your back muscles and improves your posture. There are thousands of nerve endings in the soles of your feet that are constantly being stimulated by the changing temperatures and textures on the ground.
As a shepherd, I walk around 10 miles a day without really noticing it. Recently, I was out walking the fells and there was a cow sleeping at the side of the field. When she got up and walked away, I dashed across the field so I could feel the warmth of the patch where she’d been sleeping. It was red hot! That’s something you’d never feel with your boots on.
My favourite place to walk is the Howgill Fells in Sedburgh – 40 acres of green, velvety, sloping fells, crisscrossed with little streams. I usually set out in boots but when I get to some good ground, I take them off. Once they’re off at that fell wall you know that it’s safe underfoot and that you can wander freely, taking in the beautiful views and seeing very few people.
The terrain is undulating – it rises in places to about 700m, so you’re pushing yourself as well as enjoying the sensation of walking barefoot. The fells are covered in different lengths of grass, fallen leaves or leaf mould and huge clumps of dark green, wet and spongy sphagnum moss. I often paddle across streams, rivers and tarns … It can feel really odd to put your boots back on after an hour on the fells.
Being barefoot also makes you feel youthful – because it’s pure and simple fun. We’re normally so preoccupied with keeping our bodies in shape, we tend to forget about the mind. For me the two go hand in hand. Not only do I feel fit and toned – but, young, alive and free.
Alison runs free-range walking and farming holidays from her farm, Shacklabank, in Cumbria; shacklabank.co.uk
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