Niel,
Leather boots, if well made, are stiff especially in the toe and in the support area of the heel and ankle. They will become more pliable and begin to fit your foot the more you wear them and in all types of weather. Prior to Gore-Tex, we had to continually water proof the leather because once wet the leather became slippery and the movement caused blisters. With the Gore-Tex boot, the water is kept out, but if the water goes over and into the boot...the water stays in.
Many folks, myself included wear gaiters. There are two kinds, a short gaiter that basically covers the opening from the ankle to a few inches above the sock. This serves to keep pebbles, sand and stick/burrs from entering the boot. The other is a mid-calf gaiter that's good for the preceding but, also for areas where there's bramble bushes or thickets where you want to protect your shins from scratches and also, in snow, where you don't want to wear long trousers, but rather stay in shorts.
When you purchased your boots, the salesperson should have put you on an incline board to approximate up/down hill pressure on your boot. When properly fit, the laced area of the boot takes the load, not your toes, or ankles. If the boot didn't fit properly and the salesperson corrected the toe pressure by just tightening the ankle support...they did an injustice to your feet and you.
Any good boot company will stand behind their boot. I wore Merrell leather boots on the AT. When I had a stitching problem, I called them from the Trail...explained my problem. They asked if I had a second pair, I said no. They arranged for a new pair of "good no break in " boots sent ahead. When I got there, I mailed them my 1000 mile boots, wore the others they sent and 100 miles up the trail...got my original boots back...stitched and ready to go.. No Charge! Plus I was told to keep the other "day hiker" boots, which I mailed home.
Get good boots, from a good company, sold to you by a salesperson that "knows" boots and you'll have a Buen Camino.
Arn
