Would you do these walks if you were me?

[Whycantwebefreetolive]

Feeling very anxious about dog walks recently, as a few others seem to be. I’ve been feeling it more the last month or so, not sure why.
I live near to some open fields and woods leading down to the beach.
We go as a family (with Dh) to take the dog in the woods at the weekends and feel safe.
During the week, Dh isn’t home until it’s dark, he’s tired in winter by then and we don’t want to take Dd, 4 out in the dark.
During the day I often take Dd and the dog on my own into the fields part by my home, it’s very open, but with no one around. We’ve always enjoyed it, but I often feel I can’t fully relax. The other day I just started to feel really anxious and just hurried Dd (in a fun way, she didn’t know I was worried) and the dog back home. Then I felt really crappy and also annoyed that I feel scared there.
There’s a road that runs along a little further away that often has the odd car/can down.
I don’t know..I’m wondering if I’m putting us at risk going here?
It’s so nice to have this space we can just walk to at the end of the road. I sometimes drive Dd and our dog to a more open place with people to walk, but we enjoy it by our house.
Would you go or it’s too risky?

I walk my dog in fields without giving it a single thought. Sometimes I see people, sometimes I don’t. I won’t do it in the dark because I might trip on something.

I feel much more nervous about being attacked in my nearby city because I know there’s a lot of drug-related crime.

Where I live is very country so my dog walks are always in fields and woods and I'm always alone. I sometimes crosses my about what would happen if I fell while climbing up steep paths in the woods, and the dog is a spaniel so if I would be able to carry her if she jumped off something too high and broke a leg. But daytime I'm fine and don't really worry at all, I just listen to my music and enjoy the walk.

However, these early mornings in winter have really cut our dog walk short. At 6.30 it's still pitch black, feels like the dead of night and I feel very uneasy. I never listen to music on these walks, I pay a lot more attention to what I can hear around me, and the dog is careful too, she doesn't run as far, she quite often stops and stares into the distance until she reassures herself (on normal dog walks, this would alert me to other walkers, animals etc) so she quite often freaks me out. I stay on agricultural paths but even then I'm not comfortable, the other morning she disturbed some wild boar who came pelting out of the field just in front of where I was walking. I do also feel worried about being attacked in the dark so the walks are a lot shorter than we would have during daylight hours. I long for early mornings.

so many mistakes in my post above. I long for light mornings not early mornings.

I only take ddog to the park with woods attached on the weekend when there's always loads of people/ kids/ dogs around, during the week I stick to walking her on the roads, I work full time so I'm knackered after work so it works for me.
I don't take her to our nearby parkland as it's more isolated.
Personally if you don't feel safe, don't do it.
It's a shame that we feel like that, unsafe and nervous.
The dog walker on the news brings your/mine fears to the fore.
We shouldn't live in fear but we do

I know there have been one or two scary news stories recently. But it really is incredibly unlikely that anything will happen to you in this scenario (that's why it's a big news item when something does happen). I say carry on with your walks and you'll soon go back to feeling okay about it. You're taking a far bigger risk every time you get into a car.

No I wouldn’t walk in remote places on my own

I walk for miles with my dog. I don't tell anyone where I'm going because the likelihood of something happening to me is close to zero.

I would never go on this kind of walk alone.

I walk with my dog on busy streets in daylight hours only. I would only go to a field etc with other people, never alone.

Yes, I would.

I run alone all the time. No dog. I'm not fast so I couldn't run away if anyone wanted to attack me, but such attacks are very very rare. A town centre on a Saturday afternoon is higher risk.

You can't live your life hiding behind your front door.

Just make sure when you go that you don't take anything flashily expensive. Keep your phone charged and in your pocket.

I couldn’t even tell from your op what you were worried about, only from replies. You’re scared someone is going to murder you?? Honestly stop watching/reading the news - I don’t and I still know what’s going on in the world and which stories have triggered this anxiety in you. I think you have been OVER exposed to the media.

I’m an older MNer, I can’t run and I am cautious about where I walk DDog, that’s just common sense.
When I was young and fit I didn’t think twice about walking in remote areas etc, I think you need to listen to your intuition. If that means changing where you go then so be it.

It depends on the life you've already lived. That 'something terrible' has already happened to me so I'm far more cautious than the average person.

Do listen to your instinct. You do have nice alternative places to walk. I stopped walking our dogs alone on certain routes since lockdown because lots of dogs around here were getting snatched.

I wouldn’t take m dog on my own into woods, but I am 62. We have farm land behind us which leads into woods, but I don’t go that far, mainly because it’s popular with off lead dog walkers.

I think if you feel uneasy you've answered your own question and if it were me, I wouldn't put my daughter at risk if I were to be attacked.

The chance is very low, but there is still a chance, so go with your gut and go somewhere you feel comfortable with and leave the woods for when you're with your husband, unless you can find someone else local to go with.

@Hallmark1234

Good 👍 point !

I'm 60 and walk my dogs in remote areas every day. But it's up to you.

I live in a rural area with lots of footpaths, which are popular with walkers, but you don't always see people for a little while. I have run all over on my own and also take the dog out alone. I hope she looks big enough, and I look tall, solid, fit and strong enough, to put someone off if they thought about trying anything.

This is nonsense. Sometimes fears are just irrational.
Of course theres always a chance that something could happen, but like pp said, this is very low compared to things like car accidents.
Avoid the woods if it makes you feel better, but on an open field theres no reason why you should be worried.

I dog walk a lot in the countryside since 2016

Go on a self defence course op - seriously - you will feel more confident

Always leave location setting switched on on your phone and make sure it’s charged and synchronise your route with someone else and add timings so they can track you

*
If you have an iPhone - you can press your lock button five times in a row and it emits a loud siren, counts down to 3, then calls the emergency services in your area AND sends a text to your emergency contacts alerting them of your situation and location. Search ‘Emergency SOS’ in your phone to set it up.
**

Carry a whistle and a small spray and wear a high viz cross body band so you can be found more easily in case you fall.

Do not listen to music while walking and keep aware

Personally I walk along routes that are shared bridle paths and country lanes as horse riders can see what is going on from afar, and they are predominantly female, and I avoid woods unless there are lots of people about. And my dogs are trained to behave around horses and sit quietly as they go past.

Funnily enough the only time I felt vaguely worried was when I was cycling on
a remote narrow cycle path with large hedges on either side in the middle of nowhere and a lone male cyclist who was not dressed in sports clothes, but a white old work shirt and trousers and ordinary shoes (eg not intentional cycling clothes) appeared all of a sudden coming the other way and instead of acknowledging my presence as you would in those circumstances he sort of glowered and drove very close by me. Left me a bit on edge but he could have been a farmer in a hurry I suppose and it happened too quick to think about it really.

Sorry but that seems an extreme and irrational concern to me. If you’re feeling this way in general I’d be seeking support for anxiety.

Statistically you are far far more likely to have a car accident if you drive for your walk than anything happen on your local walk.

Our daily dog walk is very similar to yours and I’ve never once felt scared. I don’t do it in the dark mainly because our dog is black and I can’t see him in the dark. I am a bit freaked out at the moment because we only live 15mins from St Michaels where Nicola Bulley has gone missing but I know it’s safe really.

I do walk in woods alone, and have done with DS when he was a young child as well. I lost all feelings of anxiety around it after a violent assault from my ex partner and needing to seek help in an isolated location from men I didn't know. The risk of attack from strangers is tiny, and I am no longer afraid of just being beaten. The risk of worse than that is tinier still.

I think it really does depend where you live

I've lived in London most of my life but for about 2 years, we had to move to a v rural location for work. The dog walks were amazing - similar to what you describe - but absolutely no mobile signal at all. You could only get some signal if you passed through a village and even that wasn't guaranteed.

I loved all the walks but was honestly terrified of getting lost - so much so that it started to ruin the walks. I downloaded an OS map app in the house that worked without signal and tried to make sure I knew where I was on it but it still freaked me out a bit. After a while, I did start to recognise the area a bit better. I would say 95% of the time, I never saw anyone else so if I got lost or something happened to me, I would have been screwed!

I think in the end you have to do what makes you comfortable. I don't think the fear of being attacked is that rational and it sounds like you have better directional sense than me but if you're not enjoying it, maybe try something else for a bit.

I often see dogs with this special collar on them that lights up in the dark, I think it’s LED light or something.