to ask if anyone has a LONG walking commute every day

My walk to the station in the morning was dark too at this time of year! I left the house at 6.30 am.

I'm retired now but used to walk 20 minutes to the station, then the train, then a 15 minute walk the other end. I still do that if going into central London. And I walk locally to choir (about 1.4 miles) and to Waitrose and the butcher (a mile an a half each way).

It's good for you!

This is normal to me. I walk 30 mins after a train journey to one office.
DC walk 30 mins to high school
I walk the dog 50 mins after primary school drop.

I had to walk to a meeting at the other end of our work site yesterday at 4. It was dark. There were lots of MEN around (and women). I even talked to one of them as I had never been to that meeting room and it wasn't through the entrance I thought. I didn't die.

Ridiculous. Nothing happened to you.

If none of us went out alone after dark most women would have to give up work and live like cloistered nuns. It's dark in the morning and it's dark from 4pm, do you need a male chaperone to leave your house in winter?
You're far more at risk from your chaperone and the men inside your house, unfortunately

But what’s unsafe about it?

It gets dark at 3pm in the middle of winter - surely you don’t lock yourself inside your house every afternoon for months?

Do it @Consideringparttime ! I can’t recommend it enough, it’s the only way I’ve ever consistently built exercise into my routine most days. I used to walk or run 6km to/from work and I really miss it now I’m much too far away to do it. I wouldn’t always do it both ways and would often get a bus one way.

I remember walking to work during the beast from the east snowfall. I wish I could still walk in.

Sorry I call bullpoop!
20 miles would take 5 hours, at a fairly brisk brisk 4mph pace.

they were running for the train so it was a non issue

Yes @Lavender14 surely that makes my point. They were not running at you. You can walk around in the daylight or in the dark and men, or women, will not suddenly run at you. Yes, if they did, not much you could do. So do you avoid being anywhere non-residential alone? I agree with @rainbowunicorn this narrative makes me angry actually. The perception of risk here (by some people) is ludicrously overstated. The chance of someone attacking you, in day or night, is really small. Of course it is horrific when it happens. I am in no way minimising that. But I refuse to be cowed into submission and stay at home after 4pm for three months of the year because there are a very few unpleasant people out there. You are much much more likely to be harmed doing all kinds of other things that you do without worrying (as you should).

I used to love walking to work but when we moved, 15 miles each way was a little too much. It gives you thinking time to plan your day and is a great destressing time at the end of the day. Go for it.

20 MILES?? Wouldn't that take well over 5 hours??

I wfh most of the time but usually go for a 40-60 minute walk before and after work and for as long as I can fit in at lunchtime. I also go for walks if I am dialing into a call where I just need to listen, not contribute. I can get around 25k steps a day and love the time spent outside. And to the person who finds the dark dangerous...I walk in the dark too 😊

If I wouldn't go out in the dark, I could not go out in the winter. Weekends are the only time when there is daylight. It is dark when I head to work. It is dark when I come back. It is dark when I go to training etc. I couldn't do anything if I waited for daylight. Safety is important, I don't go through the unlit park alone after 10pm. If your shift ends ar midnight on saturday it is worth considering wether to walk home alone in the dark for an hour. But after regular office hours?

I do this, albeit 40m rather than your proposed hour. It’s wonderful. Shower on arrival is not necessary (it’s a walk); waterproof shoes and an excellent raincoat are a must. There is the odd awful, wet day, but not as often as you would think. Enjoy.

I cycle to work. However, i don't enjoy winter cycling anymore when it is icy and snowy so I try ti walk to work, about 40min. I hate it. I don't like walking so I've started to take the bus. However, i do have a colleague that walks to the office 45min and she enjoys it.

Go for it. If you don't enjoy it, the make alternative plan. I do have to say that I am not too familiar with Martin Lewis, but on Taskmaster his stepcount seemed borderline OCD so I am not sure I would use him as an inspiration for it.

Not undermining anyone but we really need to stop with the poor weak little woman that cant go out after dark because of all the big bad men. It does no favours for women at all. You have a higher change of being in an accident while travelling in a car or on public transport than you do of being attacked randomly on the street walking home from work. There are some on here that would have you believe that women are always unsafe when alone. Thats just not true.
By the way, I have had close calls and scary experiences with both men and women in different areas of my life. Not one of those experiences was while walking to or from work.

Yeah you sound like you haven't (thankfully) had a close call or a scary experience. Unfortunately others have not been just as lucky. I used to walk back at around 10pm from my shift and vividly remember once when noone else was around and it was a non residential area 3 men running at me and realising that I could do nothing to fight them off. They were running for the train so it was a non issue but it made it very clear to me how bad it could have been. Don't undermine women for worrying about the harms some men can and do inflict on women they think are vulnerable.

I've done a walking commute that length before for about 4 months but for about 35/40 mins one way for a lot longer. I did really enjoy it and I think my favourite thing about it was how much it cleared my head at the end of the day especially as I wasn't really enjoying the job i was in then. Only thing is when it's absolutely lashing you need really good waterproof gear for walking in or a change of clothes/shoes as backup in the office. I remember getting sprayed by a car going through a huge puddle and having to dry my clothes to my bra under the hand dryer in work. Also not great in ice and snow. I think it also depends on your working hours and how safe your route feels at the times of your commute and if you'd feel OK doing the same route at the same time in the same days from a safety perspective.

Apparently a man might approach them.

What's your point?

You are being utterly ridiculous. Do you seriously never go out after dark? I pass numerous men (and women) every day walking to and from work. I often say good morning , hello as we pass. They respond and we both carry on with our day. Your reaction to women being out after dark alone is utterly bizarre.

Yes agree with the last poster. Can you explain please why it is unsafe to be outside alone after dark? And why it is OK to be outside alone in the daylight?

Do you never go out in the dark? It was pretty dark at 4pm tonight. I went out at about 6pm to post a parcel at a nearby shop. Would you do that or not, if it was dark (which it obvs was)?

ETA: I see you have answered. But not really explained why being approached by a man is more unsafe after dark. Is this man going to attack you? The vast majority of people don’t want to do that. Again, I wonder, do you never go out in the dark? If not, you should know that I am over 50, have gone out in the dark on my own many many times in my life, and I have never been approached by a man. Neither has anyone I know. I know that it does happen, but so do RTAs, and I know plenty of people who have been in one. Yet we all still go in the car. Of course we do. And we should go out at night if it suits us.

What is unsafe about walking g home from work. I walk to and from work, as do about a third of my colleagues. I have done for most of my working life (several decades). What is it that is supposed to be so unsafe? Do you never go out alone after dark?

Mine is 20 min walk, 1 hr commute, 20 min walk. It definitely keeps me fit!

I did 1 hour each way for 15 years. Always in the morning and 80% in the evening, unless I went via shops then jumped on bus or tube.