Talk

Ah! We used an absolutely brilliant two-pack one, comes in matt and gloss I think, has resisted the claws of mad manic huge dog for a year (he's dented the boards, but the varnish has held) and I can't recall the name...

Let me think, and I'll get back to you.

Went and looked:
Bona Traffic HD (we got extra matt).
Easy to mix, easy to apply. Darkens the wood a bit (which I think is inevitable). On boards by back door (has resisted manic mad huge dog skidding to a halt there almost every morning for a year (and most afternoons). Has also done well on parquet, including having furniture moved across it. Seems very sun-resistant too.

The place we bought it from use it in their lobby - timber merchants, heavy use.

Thank you mehsmum. Did you consider hard wax oil (Osmo, Fiddes brands)? Google search seems to imply a choice between that and Bona Traffic.

No, we didn't. We took advice from a friend with connections in the building trade, looked it up online, thought yup, that'll do.
And it has, very well.