On boots and socks
Nobody wants advice about socks until they have blisters, and then they want nothing else. So here it is, briefly.
Wool, not cotton. Two thin pairs are better than one thick pair. Change them at lunch on any walk longer than twenty kilometres. Tape a hot spot the moment you feel it, not after the next stile.
As for boots: the best pair is the one you have already walked a hundred kilometres in. Comfort beats every feature listed on the box.