Is it safe to walk in London alone as a woman in the early hours of the morning?

[PinkCardigan93]

I may have to walk 3 miles alone next week in the Ascot area, to get to work for 5.30am for a contract. My car is at the garage and there are no trains running that early.

Is it safe? I'm not from London so thought I'd ask here!

get a taxi - it won't be too expensive. Not worth the risk of walking!!

As far as I am aware Ascot is in Berkshire !.

Safe and not safe are not binary conditions. Something can be safer and less safe but there are never any guarantees.

When will you be walking in the London area? Ascot is miles away from London. That’s like me saying I live in London, (not ascot but similar distance) - people would think I was bananas.

Less street lamps, CCTV etc in ascot I’d imagine as it’s much leafier area.

Short answer: no

No, get a taxi.

Ascot’s moved to London?

Ascot is not London. At that time, you will be fairly safe. There will likely be dog walkers around and early morning peeps waiting at bus stops. Are you having to walk on country type roads?

It is. They have taxis there and everything.

3.5m in Ascot - what kind of roads? Potentially more unsafe on back roads with a risk of getting run over. Central London? Perfectly safe.

I'd happily walk in London at 5.30 am....it's is light at that time now. Wouldn't occur to me not to.

I have no idea about ascot...are the roads quiet or busy? Is it rural?

Ascot is a town in Berkshire.. it’s not an unsafe area per se, but as a woman I probably wouldn’t walk three miles anywhere on my own at 530am.. Safer to be prebook a taxi.

Central London yes I would walk. Ascot no I wouldn’t. There probably wouldn’t be many people about and I doubt the walk will be pleasant. Why can’t you get a cab?

That shows how out of the area I am 😂sorry! It looked like London on the map! I need to arrive for 5.30am so would have to set off earlier.

I may just get a taxi. It's just finances are tight and every penny counts so I thought if I could save £20 to walk it I would!

Ascot looks like London on the map?! Really??

Won't work pay for your travel?

Just get an Uber!

Ascot is quite rural and about 20 miles from London. There might be a few dog walkers at that time. Where do you need to walk to and from?

Hang on, though — if you don’t live in or near Ascot, as you clearly don’t if you think it’s in London, where will you be coming from, if you need to be somewhere in Ascot for a work contract by 5.30 am? Will you be staying in Ascot overnight?

You’ll need to set off at about 4:30, so it should be light by then. I don’t think that would be any more unsafe than walking in the same area at, say, 9pm on a summer evening. I grew up not far from there and would feel safe enough as long as it was light (I don’t think it being light makes it safer, just feels better).

Do you mean Acton?

I am quite happy to walk around most areas of London at any time. No headphones. Keep aware of what is around you.

So intrigued to see the map OP consulted that suggested Ascot was part of London😂

I feel pretty safe in London. I'm also middle aged and spec wearing and don't dress particularly nicely and I'm fit and strong ! I've lived here for 30 years and am fairly savvy about London streets. So no one bats an eye at me and I don't have my phone out etc so I'm not a target for phone theft either.
I wouldn't necessarily feel safe walking along a road I didn't know in a more rural setting. So not sure I'd risk it myself

I wouldn't do this as a woman or a man.

A young man of 23 has gone missing in our city recently - he was walking after a night out.

I'd get a taxi or a hotel to stay over the night before - can you expense these costs?

£20 is worth it for a taxi that could save your life even if money is tight. People ‘disappear’ everywhere and anywhere, you know that.

No one can say whether it’s safe or not because who can possibly know whether that’s the day a mugger/ pervert or worse happens to be on the street at the same time as you. The reality is women are never ‘safe’ on the streets. I would get a taxi.