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'm a forest manager so it goes with the job but I've always felt safe and comfortable in the wilds. I do avoid places like canal towpaths though, unless they're busy.

I do every day, I have 2 dogs and sometimes it's very early in the morning. It blissful - I worry more about what the dogs will find. As it's alway the 'dog walker' in the news, who finds the body.

The more remote the happier I am to be alone

Quiet streets open ground and woods near large town make me nervous

I do it regularly and feel fine. I guess it depends on your area.

Forests and nature reserves yes, and I do, but not fields unless the footpath is fenced. I’m scared of cattle.

Wouldn’t take a dog anywhere.

Yes, on my own or with the baby, all the time. However, I'm that apparently rare thing, a woman who doesn't really ever think about being attacked and has never been threatened by anyone. I go where I want and I don't worry. I do have some theories about why I'm like this - I suspect it's to do with my somewhat unconventional upbringing.

When I lived in:

Malawi, Poland, and UK - Yes
Australia- no but I don't think I had much opportunity alone as I was nearly always with dp anyway
South Africa- nope always with others

With my German Shepherd, yes. I don't think I would with a less intimidating dog, or alone.

I do frequently with the dog and have run alone. I only have one earphone in if I have music on so I can hear what’s going on around me. Loads of lone female dog walkers around.

No problem being alone in a forest - I prefer being alone to being there with others. To be fair I'm only talking about mainland Britain here, no way would I go alone in eastern Europe or Asia/Africa/South America. But I'd love to be alone somewhere like Canada, apparently you can literally spend a whole day and not meet anyone.

No I wouldn't.

I live backing into woods and I don't go alone, it's very annoying but it's not just people I worry about where I live it's also dogs. Everyone's dogs are sooooo friendly. Except they're really not and they scare me regardless.

@icdtap

I'm in another country and I regularly go into the forest to sleep at night. Doesn't bother me at all.

That said, when I lived in the UK I was very wary about even going for a walk in a forest alone because my parents kept telling me horror stories of people being attacked or murdered.

Interestingly I wasn't worried abroad where I grew up either. I am not worried even here too much. I always walked at night in cities because I worked in hospitality. I never had to keep an eye on my drink so it isn't spiked before I moved to UK though. It hasn't hit me really until recently when I was talking to friends from back there and telling them about what I heard here about school girls being harassed in their uniforms, women cat called from passing vans etc (though thag hasn't happened to me here either) and my friends were really surprised at how much it's happening here. It's absolutely not perfect there. Nowhere is. But it's different and there was not a single van that cat called any us when at school (or even later). That's not saying it doesn't happen, before anyone starts, but it means it seems to happen less when none of us knows anyone this happened to? I don't knkw. And if this happened to schoolgirls, everyone would know within minutes. Like we did about the one and only flasher and his literally 1 flash career in our area. I had once attempted rape when young. It was not a stranger at all. Statistically stranger in a forest or anywhere actually poses considerably lesser danger to me than my DH is👀.

I can't figure out why two countries quite close are and, most noticeably, feel so different.

I refuse to be afraid to go somewhere, absolute majority of man are not a thread and I don't bend to minority. I made peace with the fact I shouldn't turn away from my drink though.

@skirk64

No problem being alone in a forest - I prefer being alone to being there with others. To be fair I'm only talking about mainland Britain here, no way would I go alone in eastern Europe or Asia/Africa/South America. But I'd love to be alone somewhere like Canada, apparently you can literally spend a whole day and not meet anyone.

😳 Ok... Sorry you had bad experiences there

@FangsForTheMemory

When I lived in London I hiked all over the Home Counties on my own. The only thing that was ever a problem was fields with horses in. They’re a pest.

Cows are much more of a problem than horses, they can be really dangerous.

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.

@FrozenVag

Is this what it’s done to?

Why the fuck men aren’t hanging their heads in shame I don’t know

Really? Not the men in my life.

I do lots of country walks in very quiet areas both with and without my son . No dog . I can’t run fast , but keep my keys in my pocket in case I was attacked I have a very large key I could use to try to protect myself, to be honest I would likely stand no chance as I’m not strong at all . I refuse to stop enjoying these walks though . I often see a few people I now recognise from time to time which is nice .

@Susannahmoody

No. If I'm with the kids we got to open spaces. If DH is there we go in the woods. I simply don't trust men.

You are more at risk from your DH though so maybe you shouldn't go to the woods with him.

But I'd love to be alone somewhere like Canada, apparently you can literally spend a whole day and not meet anyone.

Apart from the bears...

Cows are much more of a problem than horses, they can be really dangerous.

Cows kill more people than sharks. Which is logical, but still interesting sounding fact

@SchrodingersImmigrant I suspect if sharks lived in fields with footpaths running through them the statistics would be a little different.

Yes. I mean I wouldn’t in a forest because my sense of direction is shite and I’d probably get bloody lost but with the dog I feel safer (he’s not a sought after dog so I don’t fear dog being stolen and he would most definitely bite them before they got to me I think.)

I used to do epping forest, early in the morning. I did once see a van acting suspiciously at around 6am and later on, there was a body found.

I also used to do Tottenham marshes on my own, early/late.

I did have a massive mastiff with me though.

I do, very regularly, and have done for years. I don't have a dog. I'll walk/run anywhere - forest, fields, moors, mountains. It would never occur to me not too. Only once in my entire life have I ever felt unsafe and that was in an area of forest I'd not been into before. There was no tangible reason for it - there was no-one there and nothing but trees - but it had a really strange feeling and I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Having said all that, I don't go into woods at night on my own. That's simply because the thought of seeing animal eyes looking at me through the dark really scares me!