Perfect timing too as I am moving to the seaside next month. I lead a casual lifestyle and walk Felix, my dog, 5 times a day. Rain or shine. That won’t change, but now I’ll be able to throw in at least one long beach walk every day. Soooo looking forward to that

We have a temperate climate, in Winter temps don’t go below freezing point very often, and if they do, only a few degrees. But it rains often, and it will be windy by the sea.

I won’t need actual gear. Warm layers, warm (waterproof) coats, hats, scarves, gloves, and the right footwear is “all” I need

I’ve got the warm layers covered, coats, hats and scarves too, although I wouldn’t mind adding one warm coat and a few more big scarves.

I probably need to find a pair of warmer gloves that work better for dog walking (i.e. picking up poop, throwing Felix’s ball etc.)

And I could definitely use your advice re footwear. It needs to be VERY comfortable, has to fit my orthotics, be lightweight, have good grip (non-slippery) and now also needs to be waterproof I think.

The waterproof factor wasn’t so important while living in the city, but beach walks definitely require it. Our beaches are partly loose, very fine sand (that gets everywhere;-), partly more solid wet sand interspersed with puddles (shallow and some quite deep). While we will definitely try to avoid stepping into the deep puddles, the shallow ones can’t always be avoided.

Ooh, and I have no experience with footwear and salty water…

I’m curious to hear what kind of footwear you would recommend for these kind of walking conditions?