to find this man creepy on my walk?

I'd do the same

It's all well and good for your DH to comment, but men rarely get attacked, do they???

Why would you walk through there alone? Honestly these days there is too many women being attacked. You said so yourself no one goes that way. If anything happened, no one would be around to help you. It just takes one time for someone to think 'it's ok let me go this way nothing will happen' for something to actually happen. Put your safety first.

Guys will never understand the fear us women have of walking through quiet areas by ourselves. Unfortunately these days attacks on women have become common and you can never be too careful.

It’s a tough one. I walk alone in a forest every day but I’m 50 I would not like my DD to do it as I see lots of men on their own. It makes me nervous and I do what I can to avoid them, rather than walk past them. Where I walk is a favourite gay meeting place too and there are a lot of men on their own looking at their phones and just looking dodgey. However, I love my walk and think if I end up perishing at the hands of a madman then so be it. I want to walk in the woods and be free. I wouldn’t advise a younger woman to chance it though. If anything I think my maturity would frighten them off. I just look meaner than a younger woman. And I’d fight like an animal unleashing years of pent up anger onto the perpetrator. He’d have to be brave.

It’s sad but I treat every man as a potential attacker. I size up his physical appearance and behaviour, the environment, and if I feel threatened I protect myself by getting away from him. A man who wouldn’t seem to be a threat in a public shopping centre could well make me feel threatened in an isolated forest. In that environment any slight oddity would put me on high alert.

You were right to think that this guy’s behaviour was odd. Why would he be walking along and suddenly turn back? His action was clearly triggered by your presence. So then you have to wonder what his motive is? Better safe than sorry I say.

What is cottaging?

Never anything wrong with trusting your gut. I had a similar feeling about a man in the supermarket recently. I had my toddler with me, and he always seemed to be there in our proximity, hands in pockets, hanging around but not buying anything, constantly scanning his surroundings.
I kept a hold of my toddler and locked the car as soon as he was in, may have been nothing, but doesn't do any harm to play it safe.

I see a man walking towards me, on his own, no one with him and no dog. Highly unusual I think to myself.

I think the fact that you thought him walking alone was weird, means you’re over reacting.

But it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

It’s very difficult going from a city to a more rural area.
I live in Cornwall and am used to rural areas but I still feel safer when there are more people around.

If there’s dog napping then I’d no way go in there by myself.

We all know that men we know are more likely to kill us but that doesn't mean you're smart to ignore your gut feeling and follow a strange man into the woods.

Exactly. Whenever threads like this come up there is always someone ready to dismiss an OP's concern by pointing out that it's rare for strangers to randomly murder women. In 35% of murder cases, where the victim is a woman, no suspect is charged so we do not know their relationship to the victim, the murderer may be known or unknown to the woman. We know that on average strangers are responsible for 10- 15% of women who are murdered. Potentially 50% of women who are murdered are murdered by someone unknown to them.

Risk assessment requires consideration of consequence in addition to likelihood. The likelihood of being murdered by a stranger is very low but the consequence is a severe as it can get. So yes it's smart not to follow a stranger into the woods.

There is a forest walk near me which is a notorious cottaging destination and I can assure you that it does happen!

It is unusual to see forest floors littered with condoms.

I've been flashed on three separate occasions walking alone so I would always would trust your instincts.

No way would I be waking through a forest alone, your DH is coming from a place of privilege if thinks you're being OTT, obviously his experiences as a man aren't the same to those of women.

I think you're mistaken:

I'm about three minutes into the forest when up ahead of me, through the forest, I see a man walking towards me, on his own, no one with him and no dog. Highly unusual I think to myself. Then, I notice he stops walking, stays still and observes me, before turning around on himself and walking the way he'd came from (the direction I'm going) which is deeper into the forest.

He turned around and changed direction so he was going into the forest ahead of OP.

No one said that the man was a threat - only a potential one.

We all know that men we know are more likely to kill us but that doesn't mean you're smart to ignore your gut feeling and follow a strange man into the woods.

If you felt uncomfortable you did the right thing.
Saying that the chap has every right to walk on a public footpath.
Since the pandemic lots of people seem to walk in my local woods/forest. I use to be able to walk the dog for hours without seeing a soul. Some with dogs, some without, some male, some female.
A lot of people I don't recognise. They could be new to the area or just working from home.
Or like us often choose new places to hike.
My almost 16 year old dog can't go far now.

I checked the wrong box🤦🏼‍♀️YANBU
I wouldn’t walk into a forest alone, no chance.

I’ve had a similar experience and it’s unnerving to say the least. I posted on the local Facebook page about my encounter and was advised I had a resemblance to another dog walker whose partner had assaulted her and it’s possible he thought I was her. It happened years ago, my dog was much younger, fitter and he’s big- but I wouldn’t count on a dog putting off an attacker.

@Deathbyfluffy it's not unusual to see forest floors littered with condoms. Some forests are known spots for cottaging

@OrlandointheWilderness

Of couse, everyone is entitled to their opinion and that's the beauty of this site. What annoyed me was the supercilious and sneering tone of some of the posters. They appeared to me making the OP sound utterly irrational for even considering her safety as a lone woman in a deserted forest - one that according to locals has a dodgy reputation. I'm afraid I've seen enough to know that women cannot be as casual as men about their personal safety. Maybe the solitary man was studying the profusion of flora and fauna, who knows, but I personally wouldn't want to stick around to find out. That's my opinion which (as you say) I am free to air.

I agree with this as general advice. I'm not getting murdered for the sake of being polite.

I've had this close to my home. Sadly my DDog had passed away but I still wanted to keep up the walks. I encountered a guy just sitting by the stream, no dog and a very unusual spot for people to stop. I ended up making a ridiculous long detour home. I just don't think many men understand how women have to judge every situation and circumstance all the time.

OP, you are right to be cautious and trust your instincts. I've walked many dogs for many years and if I'm alone, I stick to reasonably well worn routes where there is likely to be other people. I would not want to be a lone woman in a deserted forest (with or without a dodgy reputation). If previous posters find this silly or, fod forbid, prejudicial towards men then let them crack on. Maybe they should read the news more often. I'm not advising you to avoid getting the bus to work or to live in a nuclear bunker, I'm simply advising you to not walk as a lone woman in a deserted forest!

Men don’t have to think about danger much when they’re out for a walk. Not great that he can’t imagine why a woman would be scared.
I was once followed on a coastal walk for bloody miles. I was so relieved when the next village hove into view.The experience has stayed with me.

Don't risk it. Trust your gut. Don't go there anymore. I think your partner is the unreasonable one saying you're being a bit dramatic - easy for him to say when he's a man and doesn't have to worry about being raped or murdered. Has he tried putting himself in your shoes ? Very common for women to not feel safe when out alone in remote places. Really annoys me when men/partners don't understand this and call us dramatic...

We are perfectly entitled to post our experiences and opinions for the consideration of the OP.

I noticed during lockdown that those of us walking without dogs were viewed as eccentric.

As he turned away from OP, back from where he had come, I think he was trying to be considerate of OP.

But I guess if the forest has dodgy activities, then I could be wrong. And then it's also no surprise that OP was primed to feel fearful.

Women’s intuition should always be trusted, better to be safe than sorry 😔