Hiking In The Lake District In Your Flipflops

A recent report published in the Westmorland Gazette has highlighted the bizarre and sometimes downright dangerous choices that some walkers hiking in the Lake District have been making when choosing which footwear to use. A spokesperson from The North West Air Ambulance reported incidents of inexperienced walkers wearing luxurious soft sheepskin lined leisure footwear, flipflops and other shoes deemed highly 'inappropriate' for these most challenging of fells.

This year, mountain rescue teams have already attended up to 38 incidents, 12% of the total, in which hikers were found to be wearing poor footwear.

The importance of choosing the correct boots for hiking in the Lake District is without doubt something that shouldn't be treated lightly. There is plenty of advice available for ensuring adequate protection for your feet, ankles, knee and leg muscles and there really is little excuse for being ill-prepared.

Some of the most common injuries seen by walkers hiking in the Lake District are also seen in other areas of the country, where bad footwear decisions have meant a lot of pain for the wearers, and sometimes for some considerable time after the initial problem began. Here are some of the most common problems walkers can face, even with the best hiking boots:

Straining the thigh and knee - This sort of injury can occur when hiking up or down hillsides where greater strain and pressure is placed on these areas. There are however hiking techniques which can be used to limit this sort of damage.

Painful, unexpected ankle sprains - This is perhaps one of the most common walking injuries, especially when hiking in the Lake District - tough climbs and scree slopes formed from loose fragmented rock can cause the ankle to roll outwards and cause the injury. Ankle sprains can be avoided by ensuring good quality hiking boots are worn with adequate ankle protection - it's fairly obvious that flipflops really won't prevent ankle sprains.

Dreaded blisters - All walkers will at some point get blisters. They occur for various reasons, most notably because of repeated pressure on an area of skin where moisture is unable to escape. The most preventable measure to avoid getting blisters is to ensure your hiking boots fit snugly and that appropriate socks are worn with them. Always carry First Aid items that can help with blisters, such as plasters and specialist blister creams.

Of course, hiking in the Lake District in flipflops is never going to do anybody any favours, and not only can this sort of behaviour put the wearers health and sometimes lives at risk, it also puts greater pressure on the mountain rescue services and air ambulance teams that are called out to hikers who've been caught out by bad and irresponsible decisions.

Always get advice about the best kind of hiking boots to wear, make sure you have a fitting session from an expert or specialist supplier and if you’re intending to go hiking in the Lake District, make sure you share this advice with anyone you see with a map of Helvellyn in one hand and a pair of flipflops in the other.