Although I spend my days wondering around in less opulent footwear than I used to I still have a bit of a thing for shoes that has prevailed. Fortunately it is almost as much fun to allow it to wash over into Beans wardrobe and that is why, when a pair of beautiful, butter-soft red boots arrived on my doorstep not so long ago my inner shoe goddess did a little leap for joy.

Because look…

In the short time that we have been in the shoe market for toddlers we have learnt a lot; the foot measuring thing is always super scary until mummy puts her foot in it first, red shoes are the best shoes, most shoes are expensive and not very hard wearing

It was a genuine relief when we came across Marks and Spencers kids shoes. Aside from the obvious fantastic in-store café factor, everything that we have brought for Beans from M&S has been fantastic. And these Walkmates boots really are that.

The soles are flexible and light but remain resilient to wear and most importantly the cushioning is great and feels really comfortable.

The fit is brilliant with enough growing room to mean that we’re not back on the shoe hunt before winter is out. I love the little touch of the Velcro to hold the zip in place although little fingers still manage to remove them if given half a chance!

The only downside that we have found is that they fit quite snug on the calf. Beans is petite so I was surprised that they weren’t more generous in the leg (as everything else tends to be!) but they fit fine over thick tights and jeggings, we just pull jeans down over the boot if they won’t zip up.

All in all though, from deliciously soft leather to puddle splash proof these really are brilliant boots and are already proving far more hard wearing than other big brand (and far more expensive) shoes that we have had in the past.

The fact that you can now order online and collect in store from 12pm the next day is an added bonus!