Real stories · Soft on the feet, steady on the street

The cushioned sandals that let me walk into town and back without my feet aching

A sandal with a soft cushioned sole and no aching feet by teatime — I'd started to think they didn't make them any more. I'm 67, and I walk everywhere: into town, along the river with Winnie, up to my daughter's and back. But every summer sandal I owned had a hard, flat sole, and by the afternoon my heels would be burning and I'd be perched on a bench willing the walk home to be shorter.

What I wanted was simple enough: a sandal with proper cushioning underneath, straps that actually held my foot, and nothing that rubbed.

Then I found the Dulcie sandals from a British label called York Boutique — soft sole comfort sandals, and I chose the warm brown, which goes with everything I own.

They've quietly changed my summer. The footbed is soft and gently shaped, and the sole underneath is light and cushioned, which is why the hard pavement never seems to reach my feet any more. The three straps all fasten with touch-fastening — no fiddly buckles — so I can adjust each one to exactly how my feet are that day, and the strap round the heel keeps everything secure. Nothing rubs, nothing slips.

Soft under my feet and snug around them — I'm not counting the steps home any more.

Sandals this comfortable, I assumed, would be sixty pounds. But York Boutique sells direct, so they were £29.95 in the summer sale. I could hardly believe it.

A friend at church admired them and asked where they were from. I'll admit I did check before ordering that I could send them back if they didn't suit — you can, within a fortnight, and the delivery's free — which rather settled it for me. They come in brown, black and white, in sizes 3 to 10.

If your feet are cutting your days short like mine were, do treat yourself to a look. The Dulcie is rated 4.7 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.