We are planning on walking the C2C next June 2012. Are leather or goretex boots preferable, will one dry faster than the the other after getting wet.

Leather does take time to dry when soaked through, Fabric Goretex will dry faster and tend to be lighter, just bear in mind the Goretex is more of a waterproofing than a breathable mebrane in boots, so the feet can get a bit sweaty, and when the outer is wet will not breath at all.
Dave.

I get the impression you're about to make a purchasing decision.

Goretex lining in a leather boot, one with a fairly rigid shank and stiff upper, is my choice.

See an experienced boot fitter and find what will be best for you. It's more important to get this decision right than any other - all the blether about walking poles, GPS, accommodation and a dozen other things amounts to nothing, compared with comfortable feet.

I'm planning a Coast to Coast sometime this year, dates to be decided, probably looking at mid-May.

I had the idea of wearing trainers on the walk, I did test the Salomon XA-Pro trainers on a 7 mile walk between Whitby and Robin Hood's Bay. The cliff path was fairly good, with wet patches of mud and water in the sheltered area's. The XA-Pro shoes were fine, did feel a bit tight around the toe area, but after 5 miles, the back of my right ankle was bleeding and cut. The other ankle was fine, I can't think of anything what's caused this, it's either the sock or the shoes. This happened with another pair trainers on the Cleveland Way in the same place. I can't take this risk on a long distance walk, at that, I'm wearing the Berghaus Explorer boots and will testing out in the next 2 weeks, once the days get a little longer.

I've found that my preference is for trainers on any long walk in summer.Although the formula will be different for every person,I've found that in terms of comfortable distance per day,my level is about 18 miles in heavy boots,23 miles in lightweight boots,28 miles in Goretex walking shoes (North Face Hedgehogs) and 32 miles in running shoes (Asics 1160's).This is primarily due to the weight differences swinging round on the end of your legs.The running shoes are about 150g lighter than the Hedgehogs and do make a difference,as I found on the C2C last summer.The only problems using them was over a couple of miles of gungy,boggy stuff over Greenup Edge and Nine Standards Rigg,everything else was nicely pathed.
I plan to use the Asics on a southbound PW this summer,which should be fine with the 35 miles plus of flagstones now in place south of the Calder Valley. The only difficult section is expected to be Cauldron Snout to Falcon Clints,which is extremely rocky and slow going.

I'm glad I had boots during my PW crossing the Cheviots. Most of the flags on that stretch being sunken became perfect water courses, but I agree with Alan.
For anything more then 30 miles per day, I prefer North Face Hedgehogs, running shoes don't give me enough support over distance.
Dave.

Alan and Slogger, would you say a pair of Hedgehogs are ok for general non rocky walking on any distances upto around 25 miles, it's something I have never considered but do find boots heavy especially in summer?

I found Hedgehog's ideal for all walking,and used them for a C2C,a PW and an Offa's Dyke. I also used them on a backpacking trip around the higher Lakes peaks,including Scafell and Scafell Pike (which is extremely rough and rocky on the approaches from Esk Hause),which proved fine.
My only complaint with the Hedgehogs is that mine fell apart after a poor 850 miles.I have a preference for the Asics road shoes in summer as they are much more breathable,as my feet did sweat slightly in the Goretex Hedgehogs,although they would do the same in any type of boots.
I would only use boots now for winter mountains trips only.

I did a few sections in one go of the Bob Graham Round in the Lakes in a pair of hedgehogs with no problems, very comfy and good grip on rock. These included dalehead, grey Knotts Green and Great Gable descending by the scramble to beck head, Kirk Fell, Pillar, Steeple, Yewbarrow, so plenty of rock solid and loose no probs.
I also wear them with Berghaus Extreme Goretex Gaitors when very wet. These Gaitors fit snugly and low over the shoe and even on boggy ground in attrocious conditions never lets any water into the shoe.
Dave.

I used a pair of low cut Hedgehogs on the HRP last summer. Apart from replacing the footbeds before I used them, they were fine. I walked for about 30 days crossing scree and steep, rocky cols at altitude. I was carrying about 6-8kg all up, occasionally a bit more.

I have used similar shoes from other manufacturers also without problems for the last few years.

In the conditions I walk I try to find shoes without a waterproof liner as they allow the feet to breathe better, dry faster and remain cooler. I also use quite thin socks in them - no need for 2 pairs.