Real stories · The boots that ended the penguin shuffle

Every frosty morning I did the penguin shuffle to the bins — these boots gave me my stride back

The boots that ended the penguin shuffle — that's what these are. I'm 67, and nobody warns you how much of winter is spent negotiating with the ground. First frost arrives and suddenly every pavement is a decision: the tiny steps, the arms slightly out, the eyes down scanning for the shiny bits. I've watched myself cross a supermarket car park like a woman defusing a bomb.

What I wanted was to walk in January the way I walk in June.

Then I found the Winterra from a British label called York Boutique — winter ankle boots built for exactly this, and I chose the black, with the grey fur cuff that makes them look friendlier than they behave.

The sole is the whole point. It's a deep non-slip tread that grips frosty pavement, wet leaves and supermarket slush like it means it, which is why my stride came back — the boot is doing the risk assessment, not me. Inside, they're properly insulated, so ten minutes at the school gate stopped being an endurance event; the outside shrugs off snow and slush and keeps feet dry; and they simply pull on — no laces to bend for, feet in and out the door.

The sole grips frosty pavement like it means it, the inside is properly insulated, and the outside shrugs off slush — which is why I now walk across ice at my normal speed while everyone else does the arms-out shuffle.

They were £34.95 in the sale, half the usual £70 — and with a fortnight to send them back and free delivery, there was nothing to lose but the shuffle.

Three frosty mornings in: bins reached at full speed, Winnie walked around the frozen park while other walkers minced past me, and Malcolm has asked why I'm 'suddenly so confident'. The boots, Malcolm. It's the boots. They were £34.95, half the usual £70.

If you also negotiate with the pavement from November onwards, do have a look. The Winterra is rated 4.7 out of 5 by more than 280 women, it comes in black, grey, pink, blue and brown, in sizes 3 to 12 — and when the first frost hits, these are exactly the boots that sell out in a week.