AIBU to feel nervous about my 10-year-old DD walking home alone around Latymer Upper Road/Latymer Road station?

I'm quite comfortable generally in a lot of west London but feel uncomfortable around there. Between that part of the Westway and nearby canal are dodgy.

Teach her awareness etc. and absolutely not on her own in the darker winter days.

I worked in the Old Brewery on Bramley Road, literally 200 yards from Latymer Road station, for 20+ years - the company gifted me a rape alarm in my Welcome Pack! A big no from me... there are all sorts of dodgy types between there and Ladbroke Grove, not worth the risk - good luck!

It's a no from me.

If you wouldn't feel completely comfortable walking that route as a grown woman then there's no way I'd be letting my child walk it alone or with friends their age. Do you normally walk with her or pick her up in the car? You could maybe suggest she sets off from school with her friends & you set off the same time so she's walking with friends to meet you part way & you so you'll be nearby if she needs you. Or if you meet her at school tell her she can walk ahead with her friends so it looks like she's on her own when in reality you're there to keep an eye out. If it's a bad area then I wouldn't be taking any chances with her safety, there's too many dangerous people in this world to take chances with your kids.

It's Latimer not latymer

Edmonton? Wrong Latymer/Latimer.

OP I have to say that as a Londoner who generally feels very safe, I dislike that westway area a lot. So I would say no.

No, I really wouldn’t be happy with this. I’m very familiar with the area and the Westway can be intimidating. Not something I’d want DD doing by herself at a young age.

No way in hell

Could she scoot? It always feels safer when they are moving faster.
It is. Dodgy area with a couple of specific features eg passing under the Westway can feel intimidating. But that time of day is really busy with lots of families are there are a lot of schools close by.
Scooter would be my preferred choice

I meant dodgy area !!!!

Trust your instincts, I worked in this area for many years. It is a doggy area. Could she take the 316 bus? Have a look at tfl map of the bus route.

I'm afraid I think that's too young. That area around the Westway can be really dodgy and with dark mornings and early evenings creeping in, I think you're taking a real risk with her safety.

Well yes now that you’ve announced to the internet the roads an unattended child will be walking along.

Maybe don’t write her route home from school on the internet alongside saying that she’s 10 and will be alone?

Basically advertising where she will be and when and that there’s no adult with her….

I don't see why there is any risk in OP asking about this route on here. There are unaccompanied children everywhere in central London at 3.30 - no need to get intel on a particular one - and pedos would also be at risk under the Westway..

For those who don't know the area, it is worth saying that it is NOT representative of London as a whole. Both my girls walked home from school in Y6 with no problem, but this particular route is spectacularly dodgy.

I grew up in Ladbroke Grove, I know north pole road/Latymer well. I wouldn't let a 10 year old do it either. I was violently mugged by 2 older kids when I was 13 on St Mark's Road, not too far away, in the middle of the afternoon when walking to a friend's house... that was almost 20 years ago and the Westway area and Scrubs is still rough as hell in parts in the evenings. Public transport is ok, buses/tube are always full of schoolkids and hammersmith hospital patients/workers. But I'd wait till secondary to be honest and even then I'd insist on my year 7 kid travelling in a group straight from school to tube/bus, no wandering round the area.

I don't know the specific area well, though I am not that far away in London. Is there a bus she could take to avoid the less pleasant bits of the route? Bus travel will be free for a ten year old.

Not unreasonable at all. A lot could happen in those 20minutes.

I grew up there and work on Latimer road. It is absolutely not something I would let a child 12 or under do. While it would be fine most days there are lots of crimes under the west way and in the surrounding areas. I regularly used to get heckled by boys in that area when I was a kid (especially in Summer when they are all out which everyone thinks is the safest time of year). It is also a 5 min walk from St Charles mental health centre and there are many inpatients and outpatients who are in distress walking those streets. I just wouldn't risk it for a 10 year old.

Having said that when I was 14 and older I would ride around alone on my bike from the flats near Latimer station under westway and up Latimer Road to North pole road and never had a single issue.

Nope, dangerous times we are living in, as much as we want our kids to be independent, times have changed. There is little or no penalty or police response to any kind of assault and the criminals know this. You’re still in charge of her safety and even if she was walking with another 10 year old, that wouldn’t stop a gang of bullies or predators in a van.

Sorry if I’ve got the wrong end of the stick but is it wise to advise the whereabouts and time of your child when they’re without an adult? Just a thought.

Not just yet OP, keep her safe.
I'd delete this thread as well to be on the safe side for all other kids who have to walk that way to the school.

Edmonton is very sketchy as you know so I’d absolutely not allow a 10yo to walk alone in that area. No way! It’s probably one of the worst areas in the whole of the UK, let alone London.

Try Open Street Maps for very detailed street mapping, showing footpaths/ cycle paths as well as roads.

Find a busier diversion from the dodgy / less populated bit and teach her the safer route.