Here’s a common carry-on conundrum for you: if you could only pack one pair of shoes for your winter weekends away, which would you take? The obvious answer is a boot; the less obvious is which boot. Our suggestion: Edward Green’s Cranleigh.
Edward Green, as you likely know, is the Savoy of shoemakers. For more than a century, its shoes have been handmade in its Northampton workshop, and its artisans are still guided by many of the principles set down by Edward Green himself.
The Cranleigh is one of the brand’s newer styles, even if it nods to its oldest: the Dover. Both share a split-toe apron, handsewn with a boar-bristle needle – a process that takes over two hours per pair. But while the Dover has been a staple since the 1920s, the Cranleigh was only conceived of five years ago – and this season gains a new commando sole. Made from lighter rubber, it improves comfort and trims down packing weight – wins all round for the winter traveller.
But the real reason we’re backing this boot is its versatility. Winter trips inevitably demand a lot of our footwear, whether you’re ambling around snowswept markets with a steaming glass of glühwein; plodding over muddy fields in search of a wood-beamed pub with an open fire; or striding into a smart restaurant after a day spent gallery hopping. The Cranleigh handles it all.
‘Come winter, one naturally gravitates toward something more substantial,’ says Euan Denholm, Edward Green’s head of brand and business development. ‘Boots not only stand up better against the elements, but they also balance the weight of clothing we wear at this time of year. Heavier denim, flannel and woollen trousers require footwear with appropriate heft.’
And if your suitcase is already filled with those weightier layers, it follows that your footwear should have backbone, too.
£1,640; edwardgreen.com
Georgie Young is digital editor of Secret Trips
