Real stories · Summer shoes that keep my toes safe

The closed-toe sandals that finally let me walk all day in summer — no stubbed toes, no buckles, no aching feet

A summer sandal that covered my toes, cushioned my feet properly and did up without me having to bend down and fight a buckle — I'd honestly started to think nobody made one. I'm 67, and open sandals have quietly become a problem. I've stubbed my toes on kerbs and paving stones more times than I'd like to admit, my little toe catches the sun, and the flat soles most of them have leave my heels and the balls of my feet aching by mid-afternoon. Then there's the buckle — that little pin and hole down at ankle level, which my back and my fingers have both stopped enjoying. So on longer days I'd give in and wear my trainers, and feel a bit hot and clumpy for it.

What I wanted was a proper walking sandal: toes covered, air still getting to my feet, real cushioning underneath, and something I could fasten standing up.

Then I found the Avelina from a British label called York Boutique — a closed-toe comfort sandal, and I chose the white, which goes with everything in summer.

They've become the shoes I live in from May to September. The front is closed and rounded so my toes are tucked away safe, but the straps across the top are open, which is why my feet stay cool — the air gets in without my toes hanging out. The sole is a thick cushioned one with a good grip, so paving stones and gravel paths don't come up through it, and there's a little bit of height that's kind to my heels without feeling like a heel. And the three straps fasten with hook-and-loop, so I stand at the door, press them down, and I'm off — no bending, no pins, no holes. They're a soft PU leather that's wiped clean with a damp cloth when Winnie's dragged me through something.

My toes are covered, my feet are cushioned, and the straps do up in a second without bending. I walked round the whole of Fountains Abbey in them and my feet were fine.

We did the whole of Fountains Abbey in them, the walk down to the water gardens and back up, and my feet were simply fine at the end. My friend Margaret, who'd worn her pretty flat sandals, was not so lucky. I'd checked before ordering that I could send them back if the fit was wrong — you can, within a fortnight, and the delivery's free — so there was nothing lost by trying. They come in black or white and in sizes UK 3 to 9.

They were £29.95 in the summer sale, half what they usually are, which for a pair of shoes I wear most days from spring to autumn is very good going.

If open sandals have started to feel like a risk to your toes and a strain on your feet too, do treat yourself to a look. The Avelina is rated 4.6 out of 5 by more than 300 women, it's £29.95 in the summer sale instead of £60 — half price — and the middle sizes always seem to go first.