Real stories · The winter boots that end the hallway wrestle

Getting winter boots on used to be my morning workout — these zip up from the side

The winter boots that end the hallway wrestle — that's what these are. I'm 67, and nobody tells you that the hardest part of a winter walk is the hallway: the tugging, the hopping, the sitting back down, the small prayer to the boot gods. By the time the boots were finally on, I'd already had my exercise for the day.

What I wanted was warm boots I could put on standing next to the door, like a functioning adult.

Then I found the Tharvandarion from a British label called York Boutique — soft suede-look winter boots in khaki with a gloriously plush fold-over cuff, a chunky grippy sole and, crucially, a proper zip down the side. There's a black and a brown as well.

The zip is the whole revolution. Open it, foot in, zip up, done — standing up, coat already on — which is why leaving the house in January stopped being a two-act play. Inside, the plush lining is warm from the very first second; the chunky sole grips frosty pavements while weighing almost nothing; and the fur cuff means they look as cosy as they feel.

A proper side zip — foot in, zip up, done, standing — plus a plush lining that's warm from the first second and a chunky sole that grips the frost. The hallway wrestle is over.

They were £39.95 — exactly the price where I hesitate — so I counted the mornings between November and March, divided, and stopped hesitating. Half the usual £80, a fortnight to send them back, free delivery.

They have since done a week of school runs and frosty dog walks with Winnie, and Malcolm — a man who has never once commented on footwear — asked what I was 'so smug about' in the hallway. The zip, Malcolm. It was £39.95 in the sale, half the usual £80.

If your hallway also hosts a nightly boot wrestle, do have a look. The Tharvandarion is rated 4.6 out of 5 by more than 290 women, it comes in khaki, black and brown, in sizes 2 to 10 — and at half price, warm boots are gone by the first frost.