Can anyone advise on suitable hill footware for a 4 to 5 yr old girl. Shoes, boots, pink wellies with frilly socks?

What size shoe is she? I went with my friend and her son (age 5, nearly 6) to get some walking boots for him, and it wasn't easy.
Most shops that do kids footwear start at size 12 or 1, but 2 tends to be the smallest for a lot of ranges. My friend's son is size 11 and eventually we got him some boots that were a cross between walking boots and moonboots from Trespass.

Strongish lace-up shoes may be the best thing you can get hold of. Trainers for that age group don't tend to be substantial enough to cope and will leak dampness through very easily.

Foot size is the problem.
She is about one size too small for the Soloman ? boots, recomended by a good shop, and I'm not convinced the boots in other shops are safe for her feet.

I certainly wouldn't use wellies. They tend to rub both feet and ankles and have no support to prevent feet twisting. I'd still try the strong laced shoes option - Clark's or similar.

I wouldn't go by the shoe size she takes in normal shoes. We got our girls fitted back in the summer, and they needed a good size bigger than normal. Both were very comfortable on a 7 mile walk.

They've got very small feet, so despite the fact that they're nearly eight, they're only taking size 13 in walking boots. Size 12 in normal shoes.

Most school shoes are pretty durable.

During the summer we hired a pair of boots for our daughter (aged 6 size 30) from George Fisher in Keswick. I think the boots were Merrell or Zamberlan. There was no difficulty getting boots to fit her. I noticed when last I was in GF's in October that they had proper walking socks in children's sizes. Hitherto we have used "tube" socks. I would certainly start with a call to GF's to see what they have (though I understand they will not sell boots mail order).

If you have no luck with proper boots, what about "Kickers"? They seem robust, offer some support and are certainly available in small sizes and could be treated with a waterproofing product (I use G-Sport on our daughter's kickers with good results).

The ladies went shopping and got some boots, AND, but socks were the problem. Is there anywhere in the midlands that do walking socks for children ? I'm not planning on going to Keswick for a while, but thanks for letting us know they are available.

The boots: Timberland, UK size 11.5 to 12, Good rubber tread soles, Brushed leather waterproof uppers, lace up, in perfect girlie Lilac (a very important factor)

Got a size bigger JJ, to allow for socks, which they could not find. After a short trial we realise she needs thick socks. Tracey will get some ski socks Friday if she can't find anything else.

They looked at Kickers and considered the soles too hard and maybe slippery? for this season.

Ski socks will be Ok in the short-term, but get shaped ones, NOT tube socks. Bridgedale make nice ski socks now, the main difference with a decent ski sock is the padding at the front to cushion against the ski boot.

Millets do an OK Kids CoolMaxWalking Sock in their own brand, my 6 year old has been using them on 7 mile walks with no problems.

my lad has had proper walking boots all the time and I now have a back log off ued but very good boots, let me have the size and the boots are yours for the cost of postage

Tracey saw the Millets socks but they start at size 13 ? Abigail is only size 11.
We still haven't got any, but we didn't go out last weekend.
Seeing as she has good boots, which should last a while ? maybe someone else would benefit from Guys kind offer.
Hmmmm the little people do have growth spurts, before they have had wear out of gear.

I've just found the OM classifieds, The 'sprogs' section is empty, surprisingly.

clarkes are good for well fitting quality shoes and boots,try them.