Why Barefoot?

We chose the name "Barefoot Park" for our project for two reasons: Firstly, because "barefoot" implies being relaxed, unhurried, comfortable with your environment - it's a great metaphor and you'll see it in brands around the world; and Secondly, because we know that actually being barefoot adds the essential sense of touch to how we experience the world around us. And being barefoot feels great. So, we want to encourage visitors to the park to shed their shoes and get the full experience - and we'll do our best to make the environment safe and rewarding.

What, Barefoot Everywhere?!

Some people go barefoot everywhere, everyday, throughout the year through choice - even in countries like Britain (even in countries like Russia, in fact). They can cope with every surface nature and man throws at them, because their feet are designed to cope and they have chosen to let them. Yours could cope too, if you wished. To track down some of these elusive creatures (as there aren't all that many) a good place to start is the web pages of the Society for Barefoot Living (SBL).

But, and let's be clear about this, going barefoot 24/7, never going barefoot, or just doing it when it feels right is all a matter of choice. Barefoot Park is all about encouraging the pursuit of knowledge, the desire to understand, and the challenging of established wisdom. We believe we all have a responsibility to be who and what we are, not who and what society expects us to be, so long as it does not cause harm.

Why would I do this?

For Fun!: The human foot has a ton of nerve endings* giving you, the user, an amazing ability to feel. What a waste not to use it. The different textures and temperatures of different surfaces, natural and man-made, feel great - simply enjoy going barefoot.

For health: Our feet contain around 250,000 sweat glands between them - bundling them up into socks and shoes gives that sweat nowhere to go. Bacteria thrive in the hot, moist environment of a shoe - bacteria which would naturally just die off or survive in far smaller colonies on exposed surfaces. So, where will your feet be most likely to suffer a bacterial infection? Bare feet do not get sweaty and stinky.

But the health benefits go beyond stinky feet.

There is growing evidence that enclosing feet in shoes, giving support to your ankles and arches and squashing your toes together, can have a direct effect on the rest of your body. They subtly change your gait, so you walk "wrong", potentially affecting muscles in your back and causing long-term back problems. The muscles in the arches wither and become unable to support you properly, leading to foot pain and a need for orthotics.

* Depending on what is measured, and who measured it, this number varies between around 7000 and 300,000 - but regardless of that, everyone seems to agree that the feet have at least as many nerve endings as, if not more than, your hands - giving you at least as much ability to feel through the soles of your feet as with the palms of your hands. Trust me or Google it for yourself, the choice is yours!

Are there any dangers?

Rocks! As a wise man on an internet forum once commented: "Gee man, rocks hurt!". It's true, you can really hurt yourself out there in the world. But few of us wear gloves full time for fear of hurting our hands. Let common sense be your guide, using appropriate footwear as tools when appropriate just as appropriate gloves are a good idea when, for instance, taking a pot out of the oven. Just don't feel you need to keep those oven gloves on all day "just in case". A recurring bit of advice though: look where you're going, that will reduce the risk.

Dog Poo! My advice is to not tread in it, whether shod or not. It smells. It's quite easy to avoid, just look where you're going - good advice anyway. But it won't cause any real harm to your skin, so get a grip and try to un-educate your mind regarding the importance of "eugh!".

Glass! Many people seem to believe there is glass everywhere. Well, if they think that then they should get off their backsides and do something about clearing it up, shouldn't they? Surely that would be completely unacceptable? Anyway, the fact is there is glass around out there - and in some surprising places, mainly because people who like to drink in secret often find hidden country places to do it in. So, as usual, do watch where you put your feet. But most broken glass in the countryside tends to be partly buried and so not sticking up in a way which would cut you. Most broken glass on hard-paved surfaces in towns or elsewhere will be in very small pieces and lying flat enough to do no damage. You can walk on flat glass without injury.

Hookworm! Yes, hookworm does exist. It's a parasite which lives in your guts, if allowed to, and which passes from one host to another by ejecting its eggs in faeces. Those eggs hatch into larvae in moist sandy or loamy soil and wait around for a few weeks (or die) until stepped on by un unsuspecting foot, after which they can burrow through the skin and through the body until they reach a nice place to live. Like much of nature, it's the stuff of nightmares. But humans only catch human hookworm, so the clear advice is to not walk where people have defaecated on the ground. But if you do, consider how many people in the country are likely to have hookworm, and therefore how unlucky you would be to step in their mess. Dog hookworm, a different sub-species, does not survive in a human host and common wisdom says that the larvae rarely enter human feet - but, if they do, they will at worst cause an itchy rash which looks nasty... but I've only come across one case amongst the regular barefooters of the SBL.