Walking alone in forests?

[Vemjs]

I was just wondering if most women are happy to walk through a Forest / big fields / nature reserves on their own for a dog walk? Or do you view this as dangerous?

Sorry it's probably not under right topic!

Yes I do on the outskirts of London, usually with a dog but sometimes without.

I do everyday with dog , She very barky around strangers .
It's rare I meet anyone. It is a council public walk way.
Only 1 part me and dog literally run through is an area where people have died due to suicide. Wish they would cut the tree down 😞
Lots of shrines .
Always text partner to say where I'm going if on different walk/route.
Don't go to the dog park anymore due to 2 dogs being stolen in front of the owners by brazen bastards

Almost daily I walk in London forests alone or just with young children, if not there on tow paths, parks or fields. I have done so since I was a child.

I can honestly say I’ve always had more hassle or worrying interactions on the street. Dark alleyways are my no go, I hate the high street at night but I don’t really worry about forests at all.

I do, and never gave it a second thought. More recently though I’m nervous, actually more so with my dogs as they are none aggressive, and dog thefts are far more rife than rapes/ random attacks on women round here. I’ve seen a man looking at my dog and felt incredibly panicky whereas a couple of years ago I would have just thought of it as harmless.

I don't, the only area around here me and my friend were flashed when we were still at primary school, it was actually quite traumatising and puts me off.

[quote Porcupineintherough]@SchrodingersImmigrant I suspect if sharks lived in fields with footpaths running through them the statistics would be a little different. [/quote]
The fieldshark. Sounds like a perfect Asylum production movie title😁

No absolutely not !
If your alone and it’s secluded your putting yourself at risk x

No I wouldn’t. I used to be fearless but I got attacked one night and now I am scared of everything.

I walk in the fields nearby, farm tracks and the canal on my own most days. I feel pretty safe on the whole. I wouldn't do it when it was dark though, most days I pass a number of other people.

I do but sometimes I do get spooked. I'm not frightened at all of being attacked - I'm more nervous about that walking in the street. I'm more worried about something jumping out at me or getting lost for ever.
Blair Witch Project has a lot to answer for!

Yes I do but I have a protective collie, heaven help the person who attacks us, and don't think he can be lured by food, he doesn't eat when he's "working" aka playing ball - a&e would be required.

@OllyBJolly

I do but sometimes I do get spooked. I'm not frightened at all of being attacked - I'm more nervous about that walking in the street. I'm more worried about something jumping out at me or getting lost for ever. Blair Witch Project has a lot to answer for!

Found this on my trip through the woods , very Blair witchy

Picture won't load for some reason🤔
What I'm trying to show is a hut I found in the total middle of nowhere . Like a bivouac 😳
Not what I was expecting to find

Yes I would and do.
Every day for the last 20 years.
My house backs on to some woods.
You only get one life and I refuse to live it in fear of 'something MIGHT happen'

What amazes me is how women think they're protected if they have a dog with them!
Most dogs are bred to be friendly and unless trained to attack, for example a police dog or an aggressive breed, would either lick the person to death whilst wagging it's tail, hide behind it's owner, or run away.

Meant to type
I think a dog gives a false sense of security.

But if it gets women out there walking then that's a good thing.

Most dogs are bred to be friendly and unless trained to attack, for example a police dog or an aggressive breed, would either lick the person to death whilst wagging it's tail, hide behind it's owner, or run away. @likeamillpond**

Dog maybe friendly to people she's knows but damn protective of me.
She won't let strangers near me.
Due to her history I have to put her on lead near strange men as she will run up to them barking with her hackles up.
So yes I feel protected by her .

I walk in the forests regularly with my children.
The times when I've felt threatened or been harassed have always been in urban areas.
We are avid geocachers so are often off the beaten track, I do always text someone where I've gone just in case we ever get lost / have an accident.

I find being away from people really relaxing.

@likeamillpond

Meant to type I think a dog gives a false sense of security.

But if it gets women out there walking then that's a good thing.

But I think the perception of risk many posters are expressing on here is equally unrelated to reality. The fact remains that a woman walking alone in the countryside is highly unlikely to be attacked. She is FAR more at risk in or around her home in the company of a male partner or ex partner, but no one says 'No, I'd never be alone in a house with my husband/boyfriend, I don't trust men.'

@drinkingwineoutofamug, I can't find a photo, though I did take one, where I last lived, of a well-built little 'camp' built out of tree branches in a clearing in the middle of a wood that was a good three miles from the nearest road, but had a seldom-used footpath passing near it. I never saw anyone there in all the years I walked that route several times a week (though it was clearly used, as things moved around and there was occasionally minor litter) and it looked deeply mysterious, but from what I gathered in the village, it was just somewhere local teenagers used to gather to drink.

@Vemjs

Very interesting! I do but I question myself when doing it - more so In forests than open spaces.

I wonder how much your area plays a part in your mindset?!

I was in the forest area this week and I'm fine seeing other dog walkers etc but saw a man on his own and became immediately suspicious, most likely completely irrationally but made me question my choice!

I had the same experience . Was walking small dog in Forrest before work . Alone .

Saw lone man walking , no dog also wearing jeans which is odd attire for a walk in that area and I instantly was thinking of worst case scenarios!

@SleepOhHowIMissYou

As a child I would often ride out on my pony alone through woods. Luckily I only experienced predatory behaviour from strangers when I was riding with friends but it didn't put me off.

When I hit puberty, despite the flashings experienced as a child (and one man tried to dismount a friend by grabbing her leg), the unwanted attention increased and I stopped riding out alone completely.

Now I'm overweight and close to 50, I do go in the woods on my own again. I started this over lockdown.

It's the rationale that I am no longer a target for attack, or even the everyday insidious pestering of my nubile years. I find my weight and age lend me an invisibility in life in general. This should make me angry but I am worn down from years of being targeted and so instead feel relief to be able to move freely.

This comment resonates with me, I'm fat and 40 and whilst I want to be healthier I really enjoy the lack of attention compared to my younger hotter skinny years. The odds of someone following me home just because I smiled at them in the street are much lower now.

@Incognitool . Same here. Absolutely nothing around , wasn't even on a path, dog found it!
There's no rubbish but remains of a old camp fire . It was damn eerie to find, very unexpected .
Still can't add photo 🙄

I go to my local forest 3/4 times a week but never alone. It’s either with my Rottweilers or the dc. I’m not sure I’d feel safe alone as I don’t live in a very safe area.

A colleague had a Rottweiler, it ran and hid under the stairs when they were burgled.

The only time I did in the woods where I grew up was when I took a friend's dog. She was a vicious-looking staffy so I was safe with her. Otherwise no, too many rapes and buried bodies.

Where I live now, definitely!