to walk in a country park at 8:30-10pm on my own?

[danniegrace]

dh annoyed at this suggestion by me and said he will be really annoyed if i do it as he will worry the whole time. we have a pretty high energy dog and the best time for his longer walk is simply in the evening time, dog is with me all day but i am a carer for a relative so with them all day, dh does take dog out in the morning but he needs another walk again in the evening and i just prefer somewhere than a pavement walk or small park... i am a fully grown woman in my late 20s. i know this sounds weird but there has been absolutely no crimes there that have come up in any sort of news, at all, not even over a decade ago, its a rather open country park vs very woodlandy. would you do it?

Not when it's dark outside OP, no way. It really really annoys me no end that as women it is not safe for us to be going out for a walk when the sun has gone down because men are our biggest predators, but it's the world we live in.

I firmly believe you can’t live in fear. You are probably at greater risk driving a car. But also understand the worry from your partner, especially if you mean in winter too. So I do t think either if you are unreasonable.

coukd you both go together?

No.

1. Just because you haven't seen anything in the news, doesn't mean nothing has ever happened there.

1. Being the first/only person something bad has happened to in that park isn't going to be much comfort.

I think it's fine, I genuinely think there's higher risk walking through town (if you're the only one about) or a park where people knowingly walk through alone in the dark, etc. I imagine country parks and nature reserves are safer. I wish I was braver, I get a bit spooked at night, but do try and talk myself out of it as I do like a later walk with my dog too, only downside is I prefer to keep him on a lead in the dark

I wouldn't do it but I wish I didn't feel like that

oh nooo i was seriously hoping people would tell me its okay lol. dh is at work until 11 so sadly we can never do them together at this time

Risk assessment is not just about how likely it is that something bad will happen but also how severe the consequences would be if it does.

"Low risk of something catastrophic happening" is a higher risk score than "low risk of something mild happening".

No I wouldn’t do it.

thing is i have to take the dog out at that time so it would just be street walking etc is it really safer if no one is around anyway? esp parks? as @EinyLinky said i always feel a bit less safe in local parks at dark

What is it with these "walking alone in the dark" threads tonight? 😆

hahaha i saw the one about 15 year old, hence i wrote my age in the op as i was hoping responses would be different

My night vision is really bad, so I don't like walking at night from a practical pov, but I would happily walk with my dog at that time from a safety pov. Dh wouldn't bat an eyelid and wouldn't dream of telling me what I can and can't do.

Do it.

There is nothing better than a long night walk
Just bring a torch hat for ground holes and a phone in case you fall in the holes

Nope sorry. You should be able to but if you meet a predatory man it won't go slightly wrong it will go life alteringly wrong...at best.

You’re not going to get any sensible answers to this question on MN I’m afraid.

I think this is key. Not many women are going to stand a chance against a male determined to rape or harm a woman. I'm not for one minute suggesting most men want to harm us, but it only takes one. And the consequences are likely to be diabolocal.

Oh I did wonder why you gave your age!

Doesn't change my answer.

I do, I refuse to be restricted by what some bastard man might do. But it's probably not the right decision. My dog is also huge.

I do that sort of thing all of the time - I'm not going to curfew my life just because of a small risk - imo I've always been told you're more likely to be attacked by someone you're either related to or in a relationship with, so me on my own is probably safer 😂

Wear comfy clothes and keep aware of your surroundings, keep the dog fairly close and just take a torch if you want to.

Depends on the park. During winter I often run through a couple of local forests alone at night in the dark but they are also used by dog walkers, mountain bikers, other runners etc. Car park is often packed & it is safer than the streets. but some forest/woods I avoid as there are different types of nocturnal activities going on.

So if this park is generally well used by other dog walkers etc go for it. Stick to the route(s) you know well and enjoy. Take a head torch and maybe loud alarm just in case.

I totally agree with you that you should absolutely be able to do this. I’m by no means a shy retiring type and as I live centrally I often walk home if I’m out late as otherwise I’d wait forever for a taxi. But no way would I go out to a park alone in the dark.

I have done this and would do it again, I had a MASSIVE mutt though which makes a difference, shouldn't though as men don't have to give shit like this a second thought... 🤨

I do it most evenings - I run in a park and across fields, walk the dog through both and have been doing so for decades through a range of woodland, field and parklands. Am out before bed most nights at about 12.30. I love my night time walks and think the biggest issue are the truly dark nights and tripling over. Life isn’t risk free and the risk from men never truly removed anywhere so I will be walking where I want using the best available info ti inform my choices and countryside walks are not usually dangerous.

No. I wouldn’t.

do you take lighting? is it very much required? or can you actually function without if you know the route? if not, will do an order for some kind of head torch