Would you walk to the gym at this time of night?

[QueenOfTheTofuTree]

So last night at about 10:30 I wanted to go to the gym. It has been a long stressful deal and I wanted to unwind by working out.

But when I told DP what I was doing he went all huffy and upset saying it was silly and risky walking there this time at night. In the end I didn't go. The gym is about a 10-15 minute walk away through a town centre.

It got me thinking, if you wanted to walk that time of night, then would you? It's not a dangerous town otherwise I wouldn't consider doing it!

Oh and I couldn't go earlier because I had DS all day!

No - but then again I generally don’t walk anywhere at that time of night.

Stressful deal? Meant day

I walk at night, in well frequented areas.

I avoid ones I do not feel confident in (at pretty much any time of day, and definitely at night when there are fewer people around)

Would it be open at that time of night?! Tbh I live in a quiet town which has had an increase in anti social and criminal behaviour recently so I don’t really like walking around late at night. I guess at that time there would be people around as restaurants and bars closing. My dh would without a second thought. Bloody annoying that I asxa woman feel unsafe doing so.

I would, but I live in a village where we have very low crime rates and pretty much no violent crime whatsoever. Although we also don't have a gym that's open at 10:30pm. I'd go out for a run at that time though and stick to the streets with lighting.

I wouldn't do it now. Years ago i wouldn't have thought twice about it, but there is so much trouble these days I don't feel safe walking alone.

It's a 24 hour gym.

I should have mentioned it's a a well lit route I take.

YesI would, I’d be well used to the route. I didn’t drive for years so would have walked home from bus stop etc after the last bus home. I’ve worked in bars/restaurants and would have walked home from work after a shift.

I definitely would, sober and a route that's so close and well lit! 10:30 isn't that late, people would still be about finishing shifts and whatnot

I used to do late shifts(for work)and I used to walk home alone,part of the walk was through a dark alleyway and that was at nearly midnight.

I keep my self safe but I refuse to stop doing what I want to do because of a fear of being attacked.

Before anyone rips me a new one I say that as someone that was sexually assaulted for years as a child.

Yeah it seems like it was safe
Does he usually get annoyed with you going out at night?

I wouldn't think twice about it, but then I grew up in the countryside where everything was incredibly crime free. My only fear when I wandered around as a teen was vampires (thanks Buffy...).

My friends and I were all baffled when we moved to cities and our new friends were hyper conscious of getting friends safely into taxis etc.

Yes - I walk everywhere and often walk home from the city centre at that time. It's fine.

I would definately walk around central London at that time of night.

I would not walk to the gym herewhere I live after dark. The only people around at that time are drunks, drug dealers and people up to no good.

Yes, I'd do it (the walk not the gym )

Perhaps I'm naive - and I know I'm lucky to have never experienced anything to make me feel otherwise - but the likelihood of being attacked on the street by a stranger is so incredibly low in the UK that there is no way in hell I'd let fear of it prevent me from going about normal life.

I would have jogged there and used it as my warm up! I kind of understand where your OH is coming from as I sometimes find myself starting to drive somewhere that I could easily walk to "because it's dark and I might be attacked". I live in one of the safest places you could image and when I used to have dogs to walk - 2 labradors who would lick any attacker rather than protect me - I loved going out in the dark to walk them!

@Kennehora

Interesting, because my experience is the opposite!

My husband grew up in a nice area, but his grammar school was in a bad one. He was mugged twice on his way to school, and once walked the wrong way around a police cordon and saw a dead body.

He's the one who talks about bad areas, locks car doors from the inside, is cautious of groups of kids etc. It's my girlfriends here who make sure everyone's carefully got into a taxi and taken right to the door.

I'm the one who strides about as if people aren't a threat, and am happy to be dropped at an easy point at the end of the road etc. Though I am definitely DEFINITELY more likely to be victim of a crime here. In my parents valley, they still talk about the last crime - a burglary. It was 1991, and I was a toddler.

Kennehora I grew up in a small town in Ireland and wouldn't have walked anywhere on my own at night. Moved to London in my twenties, lived near (what was at the time) a very dodgy area in East London but still walked everywhere on my own at night and never felt threatened or unsafe.

Yes I would have walked there at that time of night unless it’s an especially bad area.

I'm much more likely to go walking alone in a busy area like central London at night than I would in a small town or village, simply because there are so many more people around which makes 'attack by a bad man' which is probably what most of us fear, much less likely, because there are so many people around.

In a quiet village or town with fewer people around, if there was a 'bad man' out to get me, he'd much more likely think that he could drag me into a car or dark alley without anyone seeing, because the area is quiet.

Who knows what a dangerous town is? Many places can go for years without a serious attack, murder or rape and then you only need one random nutcase to seize an opportunity.

I would where I live now; previous places I wouldn’t have