Proper leather shoes

I've just had a pair of Clarkes shoes ground and a vibram sole glued on, because I liked them too much to bin them.
I'd recommend giving that a go.

Did you decide what you're going to do? These shoes have been on my wish list for some time. The only worry was the sole not being replaceable.

Could you somehow retrofit a set of these?

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/SHCATOK/carnac-touring-replacement-sole-kit

I tried doing the same to a pair of sidi's whilst working at a cobblers, so I had access to everything, unfortunately the plastic sole is hard to get anything to stick to....and the sole is the rigid part of the shoe. Nothing will permanently stick to it.