Would you walk across a field alone?

[Summerloverr]

I do quite a lot of walking around my town, and one route involves walking across a field for 5-10 minutes.

I only do this during daylight and while it's usually quiet with no one around, there is the occasional dog walker etc.

But my friend thinks I am putting my line on the line by doing this, and says I am putting myself in danger. He said it's not safe for a lone woman to walk alone across fields.

I know there are news stories about horrible and unfortunate events, but they make the news because it's rare. AIBU to walk across quiet fields alone?

Yes same here. It really does depend on the location. I've never felt unsafe or had a creepy encounter when walking. Streets and car parks, etc are a different matter.

A 15 year old girl was murdered on a canal towpath near where I lived when I was young and no girls/women I knew ever walked there alone after that, even though the killer was found. I wouldn't now, although people who didn't live there at the time and don't know the history do. Very hard to escape on a canal towpath - you jump into the water, they follow, then what? Or maybe they don't follow into the water, but just stand there? Often there are barbed wire fences along the other side of the towpath so you can't get over those quick enough either. Gardens sometimes back on to it, but have high fences or hedges, which also serve as good hiding spots for any dangerous person lying in wait.

I think people are nervous at the moment because of the news recently about poor Julia James who was killed while walking her dog by a man who had clearly been wandering around fields etc waiting for someone to bludgeon to death.😟

Yes of course I would. I've also camped alone on a field next to an archaeological site with medieval skeletons and didn't meet any mad axe murderers, rapists or ghosts!

What now? I walk my small dog in the countryside by myself every day. I have never felt in danger.

I do.

Let's not encourage women to swallow men's line that we're poor ickle things who can't step outside without a chaperon. Specially as there is probably more danger from the chaperon than being alone.

I do avoid certain places after dusk, though, as they are riddled with rabbit holes and I don't want to catch my foot in one and hurt myself and have to lie around waiting for someone I've called to reach me.

Yep! As long as no cattle

Yes, unless there are cows in the field. I have done this most days for the last 20 odd years.

Yes. I grew up on a farm. The biggest risk would be falling and injuring myself and not having phone signal.

To get to the other side

I go out every day by myself in the countryside and it would never occur to me not to. I am wary of cows though.

I used to live in rural Leicestershire and walked field paths within about ten miles of the house at all hours of the day and night. This was deep countryside way off roads — the chances of anyone with malicious intent lying in wait after a walk of several miles off the nearest road were very slim.

Yes, I live next to woods and often walk through them by myself (when it is light enough). My DM spent lockdown walking 7 miles a day over fields and by a river.

I wouldn't go into the woods after dusk of course. I wouldn't be able to see for starters.

I do, a lot of the time. Surely you assess risk, know how safe it is in general, etc. we can’t just stop living out of fear.

A man has just been convicted of murder this week in Plymouth after abducting a young woman at a bus stop. What are we going to do, never go anywhere on our own? There's nothing intrinsically more risky about walking across a field.

Yes, I walk through fields and woods with my dog every day.

I do it a lot, sometimes alone, sometimes with my DC and dogs. I'm single so if I didn't go places alone I'd never go anywhere!

I do it daily, across fields, along a stream and back through the woods. Have done it for years ( not the same walk every day, of course) See other dog walkers, horse riders, joggers.
If you’re worried walk in the open, not against the margin of the field where there’s hedge or shrubbery.

Yes, it wouldn’t occur to me not to walk fields, paths and woods alone. You can be aware of your surroundings without a level of paranoia that impacts what you can and can’t do.

I’d be wussy about walking through a field of cows. Otherwise I’d do it, in daylight.

I remember my ex partner and I took the dogs for a walk through a very remote wood/Forrest place in Sussex. Both the dogs ran to a particular tree, barking non stop, we both stopped to look and could just see a trouser leg and shoe peeking from behind the tree. I’ve never been so scared in my life, we both were.

Wouldn't give it a second thought, definitely more at risk from an attack by cattle than humans I would think.

I walk every day alone, 5k or more, always across fields or through woodland, I had never considered it as dangerous until someone mentioned it to me (they said they wouldn’t walk alone). I probably walked around 50 miles last week over 7 days, I love being alone in nature, be it a field, mountain, hill or in the woods, I have never felt at risk.

In daylight but not after it gets dark.

I often do in daylight. I wouldn’t in the dark, mainly as there is no light pollution so I’d probably get my foot stuck down a rabbit hole and break my ankle or something.

Yes generally, but only if there are no cows in it