Blog

11th December 2025

Christmas & New Year 2025

As a family run business we choose to close between Christmas and New Year to allow us to spend quality time as a family! We will be open as normal up to Tuesday 23rd December. Wednesday 24th December: 9am-2pm Thursday 25th December - Friday 2nd January CLOSED Saturday 3rd January - Open as normal 9am -5pm We wish you all the best for the festive period and a happy and healthy 2026! We hope you enjoy plenty of time on the hills, fingers crossed the British weather is kind to us all!

17th December 2024

Christmas 2024

As a family business we choose to close between Christmas and New Year. We will be closing Tuesday 24th December at 2pm and will re-open on Tuesday 7th January at 9am as usual. All emails will be replied to upon our return in January 2025. We wish you all the best for the Season and look forward to welcoming you back in 2025!

29th November 2023

Christmas and New Year 2023

Christmas 2023 Opening Hours and Closure As a family business we choose to close between Christmas and New Year. We will be closing Saturday 23rd December at 5pm and will re-open on Friday 5th January at 9am as usual. All emails will be replied to upon our return in January 2024. We wish you all the best for the Season and look forward to welcoming you back in 2024!

10th August 2023

Summer Closure

We will be closing on Saturday 12th August at 5pm and will then be enjoying a well deserved break and will re-open on Tuesday 22nd August at 9am. We will have no access to our phone line or emails while we are closed sorry. We will reply to emails once we re-open.

31st March 2023

Easter 2023

We will be closed for the Easter Weekend, we will close at 5.45pm on Thursday 6th April and re-open at 9am on Wednesday 12th April. We hope you all enjoy a long weekend in the hills (and plenty of chocolate)!!

7th December 2022

Christmas Opening Hours 2022

As a family business we will be closing at 2.30pm on Christmas Eve and will Re-Open on Friday 6th January 2023. We still have availability for our Specialist Boot Fitting Service so you still have time to get some new walking footwear to get out and enjoy some festive walks. From everyone at Whalley Warm & Dry we wish you a very Merry Christmas and look forward to welcoming you back in 2023! For last order dates and information on orders placed while we are closed please see our delivery page.

21st October 2022

Coast to Coast & The Journey to Comfortable Feet

We are delighted to welcome Nick Robinson to the blog today. Hear how he went from surgery on his foot to completing the Coast to Coast! Plus you'll never guess who he met along the way! "In March 2021 I had surgery on my left foot to tackle various issues caused by arthritis which has left me with two fused toes (Big toe and second toe) and screws in my big toe. The result is that I can’t now bend these toes and have little shock absorption in my foot which proves somewhat challenging when walking! Recovery has been slow and often painful. With plenty of knock backs. In April, the month after surgery, I only managed on average a mere 833 steps per day. Little more than to the end of the garden and back. I was however determined to climb a hill again and set myself the challenge of getting fit enough and mobile enough to attempt Wainwright’s Coast to Coast walk. 192 miles from St Bees to Robin Hood’s Bay, crossing the Lake District, The Pennines and also the North Yorks Moors in the process. Many said I was mad to even think about it. Progress was…

5th September 2022

A brand new trail!

The Ribble Valley Jubilee Trail has officially been launched from the shop! This new 65 mile circular walking trail around the beautiful Ribble Valley and Forest of Bowland (Area of Oustanding Natural Beauty) was put together by the newly appointed Ribble Valley Mayor, Cllr Stuart Hirst, in celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. This long-distance route is split into seven stages. The trail starts in Whalley and takes in Pendle Hill, Downham, Bolton-by-Bowland, Slaidburn, Chipping, Hurst Green and Mellor, before finishing back in Whalley. Full details including supporting route maps and a digital navigation App will be soon be available to download on our website. We were delighted to be a part of the The Ribble Valley Jubilee Trail launch and see the Mayor begin his inaugural walk from the shop. Cllr Hirst is walking the full 65 miles in the hope of raising £5,000 for his three chosen charities; MS Society, the Pink Ribbon Foundation and Project Linus. You can help the Ribble Valley Mayor reach his fundraising target by donating online at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ribble-valley-borough-mayor.

4th August 2022

A very special new arrival…

The shop will be taking a short break in August due to the exciting arrival of a new beautiful baby girl for Alex and his wife Leah. The shop will be closed from the 9th August and re-open on the 16th August. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

6th July 2022

Two New Appointment Types

Introducing two new appointment types – Footwear Assistance and Aftersales Service! Footwear Assistance If you’ve been fitted by us in the last 3 years and would like another pair of footwear or you don’t want our full fitting service, this is the appointment for you! Aftersales Service If you’ve bought footwear from us and would like a follow-up appointment to help with any niggles or arrange further stretching, this is the service for you! Don’t worry our Specialist Boot Fitting Service is still running as normal!

24th December 2021

CHRISTMAS OPENING HOURS

As a family business, we have chosen to close from 2:30pm on Christmas Eve & re-open on Thursday 6th January - we apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. All online orders placed whilst we are closed will be processed when we reopen in January. We strongly advise booking your Specialist Boot Fitting & Customisation Service appointment in advance online to avoid disappointment in the New Year. From everyone at Whalley Warm & Dry, we wish you a very Merry Christmas! We hope you have some great festive walks! ???????? Take care and we look forward to helping you in 2022!

21st December 2020

Christmas Opening Hours

Firstly we would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas - we hope you enjoy many festive walks! As a family business, we have chosen to close from 3 pm on Christmas Eve and reopen at 9 am on Tuesday 5th January. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. ONLINE ORDERS All online orders placed whilst we are closed over Christmas will be processed either on Wednesday 30th December or, if placed after this date, on the 5th January - once again we apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. BOOT FITTING APPOINTMENTS You can book appointments for our Specialist Boot Fitting & Customisation service online for when we reopen in January or give us a call (01254 822 220) before we close at 3 pm on Christmas Eve and we would be more than happy to discuss your needs and book an appointment for you. We look forward to helping you in 2021! Take care!

15th December 2020

Turning 20 in 2020!

Jon Smith, owner of WW&D, celebrating the shop's first day This December we are celebrating the shop being open for 20 years! What an adventure it has been! We would like to say a BIG thank you to all the great people who we've had the pleasure of working with in the shop over the years, fantastic family, fabulous suppliers and last but by no means least, a huge thank you to all our wonderful, loyal customers who have supported us - we couldn't have done it without you!

30th November 2020

Meeting with the Prime Minister

You will never guess who we've been talking to over the past few days via Zoom.... 1. The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson 2. Leader of the Labour party, Sir Keir Starmer We were delighted to be invited to both calls to discuss the challenges facing small businesses at the moment and how they can be best supported. These discussions were in connection with Small Business Saturday UK which is this Saturday! The Rise and Rise of Small Business Saturday Small Business Saturday UK, now in its eighth year, returns on Saturday 5th December. Small Business Saturday UK is a grassroots, non-commercial campaign, which highlights small business success and encourages consumers to 'shop local' and support small businesses in their communities. The campaign has grown significantly each year with an estimated £800m spent in small businesses across the UK on 2019's Small Business Saturday, with a record turnout of 17.6 million people choosing to shop small on the day. American Express created the first-ever Small Business Saturday back in 2010 in the US and has been the principal supporter of the UK event from the beginning. We were very pleased to be chosen to be part of Small Biz 100 last year and…

18th November 2020

NEW & IMPROVED BOOKING SYSTEM NOW LIVE!

We've been busy during lockdown creating a new & improved online booking form for our Specialist Boot Fitting & Customisation Service appointments.You can now view our appointment availability and book a confirmed fitting online in just a few quick & easy clicks. You can choose your appointment time and even your fitter (if you have a preference).The booking system is now live and ready for you to book appointments for when we reopen on Wednesday 2nd December.

1st November 2020

COVID-19 UPDATE

In light of last night's government announcement we just wanted to provide you with a quick update...- Firstly, we would like to say a big thank you for your continued support in these difficult times, we cannot begin to express our sincere gratitude!- In a change to our normal opening hours, this week we will be open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (9 am - 5: 45 pm). All in-store operations will be closed from Thursday 5th November in line with lockdown rules.- Our online shop will remain open throughout the lockdown & we will continue to respond to emails during this time- If you would like a Specialist Boot Fitting when we re-open in December, please sign-up to our waiting list & we will get in touch with you as soon as we are able to offer appointments.

30th September 2020

All new opening hours!

From tomorrow (1st October) our opening hours will be changing to the following; Monday Closed Tuesday 9 am – 5:45 pm Wednesday 9 am – 5:45 pm Thursday 9 am – 5:45 pm Friday 9 am – 5:45 pm Saturday 9 am – 5:00 pm Sunday Closed We look forward to offering you more boot fitting appointments per day and improving the work-life balance for the Whalley Warm & Dry team!

28th August 2020

Tripadvisors’ Traveller’s Choice Award 2020

We are currently celebrating being awarded Tripadvisors' Travellers' Choice Award 2020! According to Tripadvisor, the world's largest travel site, the Traveller's Choice Award is given to businesses who consistently receive great feedback, placing them in the top 10% of hospitality businessses around the globe! We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who leaves a review whether it be on Tripadvisor, Facebook, Google or via email - we really do appreciate each and everyone! QUOTE FROM JON/ALEX “Winners of the 2020 Travelers’ Choice Awards should be proud of this distinguished recognition,” said Kanika Soni, Chief Commercial Officer at Tripadvisor. “Although it’s been a challenging year for travel and hospitality, we want to celebrate our partners' achievements. Award winners are beloved for their exceptional service and quality. Not only are these winners well deserving, they are also a great source of inspiration for travelers/diners as the world begins to venture out again.”

23rd July 2020

Now open again on Sundays!

We are very happy to report that our Sunday opening hours of 12 -4 pm will resume from this weekend! We would like to say thank you to everyone for your understanding whilst we were closed on Sundays -we appreciate the inconvenience this may have caused and we are very much looking forward to getting back to our normal opening hours! Tuesday 10 am until 5 pm Wednesday 10 am until 5 pm Thursday 10 am until 5 pm Friday 10 am until 5 pm Saturday 10 am until 5 pm Sunday 12 pm until 4 pm

16th June 2020

OUTDOOR BOOT FITTINGS

We are very excited to launch our Specialist Boot Fitting & Customisation Service in the great outdoors! Multi-award-winning service delivered in the wonderful fresh air! Weather permitting, you could enjoy a boot fitting in the garden at the front of the shop. This exciting development is just one of many practical measures we are taking to help keep you and our team safe. Additional measures include a hand sanitiser station, a protective screen at the till & a limit on the number of customers in the store at any one time. Our Covid-19 policy can be found here. Our Specialist Boot Fitting & Customisation Service will now operate on an appointment-only basis to help us manage the number of people visiting us & follow social distancing guidelines. Hurry, appointments are booking up fast! We can't wait to help you!