What's the latest time you would feel safe being out alone?

[ilovemincepies24]

What is the latest time you would feel safe being out alone (without a dog)?

I live in a small ish town which is pretty quiet after 8pm when the local supermarket shuts. A woman was allegedly attacked a few weeks ago at around that time, and since then I've felt uneasy walking in the dark (which is quite early at this time of year), even in built up areas.

On an ideal world it wouldn't be like this but...

Not without my car - no.

Actually I don't think I go out all year without my car after 4pm.

If I broke down I would call the RAC and/or my partner.

It completely depends where I am, not what time it is.

I'm more comfortable in a busy city centre after dark than I'd be doing a rural walk alone in the daytime. It is being alone with nobody else around that concerns me more than the time of day.

I wouldn't go for a stroll after dark, but I would walk with a purpose at any time.

I'd go out at any time. I wouldn't walk in the woods at night but mainly due to the risk of not seeing and hazards and falling. I couldn't imagine not walking anywhere in the dark- popping to the shop, going to the gym, getting fresh air etc.

Me too.
big city. Feels quite safe.

wouldn’t walk my daffy wee cavvie after 9 or so though as he’s no defence and people might want to steal him. Not worried for me though in my area. It’s also after his bed time so he wouldn’t go 🤣

Any time.

Non.. unless l absolutely have to.. l was waiting for a taxi at 5pm yesterday after an appointment and stood in the dark outside my well lit city centre.. but gosh l was scared

I walk everywhere day and night, always have done and I've never felt nervous. I think nothing of walking home in the early hours and actually really like the cold, quiet dark.

I live in Greater London.

It would very much depend on where I was. I am not confortable in my own area as it's fairly quiet and there is open parkland opposite. I would feel much more comfortable in a busy city, somewhere brightly lit where there were many people around.

I mean not comfortable in my own area in winter after around 7.00 - 7.30 pm unless walking the dog, not that I'm not comfortable any time at all.

I've just been for a run, the thing I worry about most is falling over if it's dark.

I'm always really surprised at the number of people who wouldn't go out after dark, but realise there are various reasons for this. I don't know how I could function without going out after 4 or 5pm for months at a time.
My daughter is at uni and walked to a sports club at around 6pm the other day. Apparently googlemaps told her to take an unlit footpath through a field. I wouldn't do that and advised her to find a different route the next time she goes

The times I've felt most threatened were in broad daylight.

It's more the area than the time of day/night. I would actually walk through an unlit field at 2am as frankly no unknown predators is going to be waiting for a random woman to come through once in a blue moon. We do live rurally and I'm often home alone with DS so if I was scared even the garden would be risky.

An unlit canal path in Manchester on the other hand, not a chance after the crowds have gone be that 2pm or 2am. It's a hunting ground, but then I wouldn't want DH to either.

We have American friends who carry and the security it gives them makes me slightly jealous.

Genuine question here. What were you scared of?

It doesn’t give them any added security if the likely attackers are also going to be armed.

As I don't finish work till midnight, I have to walk home on my own then. Tbf, it's only a 15/20 min walk but it's definitely uncomfortable.

Being attacked.
Been attacked before.

I go out at any time. There are certain areas I avoid though.

I live down an unlit road and it is properly dark at night. I use a torch or the light on my phone to see where I am going.

School would have taken a dim view if I'd refused to pick my children up after dark!
They'd also have thought I was a bellend if I drove such a pathetic distance to pick-up.

I don't have a mental curfew. I am more selective about where I go in the dark though, sticking to paved, lit areas (as much about trip hazard as anything else).
Fortunately I live in a pleasant area, with a decent range of local facilities which I'm happy to access on foot. I've walked back from friends at 3am. It's reassuringly peaceful then!

As a student, I lived in different neighbourhoods to my friends so had to get myself around in the dark for socialising, plus evening lectures. I also had to get myself to/ from work and one mile on foot was by far the most effective transport.

In winter, then home by 7pm. The stupid energy saving streetlights have plunged our estate into darkness.
There's barely enough communal car parking so even if I'm out in the car (hardly ever) I need to be back by 9:30 or I'm parked nowhere near the house. I feel very vulnerable and isolated around here.

Even in the height of summer? When it doesn’t get dark until 9-10pm?

What do you think will happen if you go out at 7pm without your car?

I think this thread might be getting a disproportionate number of responses from people who think it’s normal not to go out after dark.

If I think about the number of places I go after dark in the winter I don’t believe I see a disproportionate lack of women (or people in general) compared to summer.

Any time. I live in a big town. I like walking in the early hours of the morning. I don't tell anyone that I've gone out. I can't walk very far, and I'm pretty slow, so I walk through the woods/down the (badly lit) alleyways and back again, as these are very near to my house. I like it when it's empty/quiet. It helps me think and calms me when I'm anxious and overthinking.

I am out and about any time I need to be, without worrying, particularly.

Halloween party in town, came came back on night bus at 2am. Just got in from the cinema, decided to walk and enjoy the cold clear night.

I don’t know anyone in RL who doesn’t go out alone after dark.

Daylight. I live near a pretty rough area. I don't drive at night, either, can't stand the glare from headlights. That's not limiting, though. Being in Australia, we don't have anything like the long hours of winter darkness in Britain. Equally important, there's nothing I want to go out at night for! 😄

There are too many variables but I'm a lot less cautious than some posters.
I went and stood in the middle of a field on my own to watch the Northern lights a while ago and it didn't cross my mind to be nervous however there are areas I'd avoid and if there was no one else about I wouldn't like it.

I'd walk in my town until midnight or later, in my own but I'd be careful.