Thanks again for all your 'footnotes' on shoes and boots. In the end I opted for a pair of Altberg Tethera to help cope with the uneven, rocky paths and the boggy stretches of the Pennine Way next year. A close runner-up in the end were the Scarpa Delta and, although Mananddog raised my interest in the Altberg Malham, they felt quite strange when I tried them on at Taunton Leisure, presumably due to the 'revolutionary' shape of their 'A-Forme' last. I've ended up with an extra wide fitting, which perhaps explains why I found Meindl and Zamberlan boots too tight. In the end it had to be tried and trusted leather, simply because I feel I know what I'm doing with it, and can at least make an effort to maintain it on the hoof, as it were.