Note on walking in mud!

I used to be a caver and one cave I've been down a couple of times, Otter Hole in the Wye Valley, is infamous for the mud in the entrance passages and crawls. For a cave like that, and mud generally, wellington boots worn over neoprene wetsuit socks forms a good combination. In contrast wellies or even waders over ordinary socks make walking very difficult, at least until you loose them!

In case I miss the tide and have to walk over the mud, in Seatern I keep some "launching trousers" (made by Trident) which are essentially the bottom part of a drysuit, and some old wellington boots. The neoprene socks of the launching trousers keep the wellies on your feet. An alternative to the wellies are neoprene hiking boots as used by dinghy sailors but these are harder to get on and off when caked in mud. On the 3rd May 2014, being able to put the gear on before crossing the mud meant that on return I was able to limit the spread of mud to one side deck and the foredeck rather than having mud everywhere - but it still took a lot of washing down afterwards!

Of course you have to be confident that you aren't going to get stuck. On a low spring tide I've walked across the River Itchen where I live - the worst mud is at the edges of streams and the river channel but otherwise it is OK. In areas I didn't know I'd be very cautious of entering mud.

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