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?

@Vettrianofan thing do happen, yes, but you'd be UNLUCKY for something like that to happen. Do you really get off a plane and think "I was lucky that didn't crash" plane crashes happen too, doesn't mean it's common or you're lucky if it doesn't... it would make you unlucky, as it's so bloody rare

It’s totally your choice. Do what you think is best.

working in the criminal justice system, I’d be concerned about repeated patterns of walking in the evening. I’m also very aware of the tiny risk of anything bad happening to anyone, versus the potential impact if that event happens.

there are a few spectacularly uninformed posts earlier in the thread. The types of crimes we’re concerned about are very much related to time of day, year, location, etc. if you want to understand London for example take a look here.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10610-022-09535-5

i would not do it, but the chances of anything bad happening are minimal. Everything is great until it isn’t.

It would probably be safe as a one off, but if this becomes your nightly routine it only takes one 'wrong 'un' to notice this and you are in trouble

I've been followed by flashers more than once, in parks, in broad daylight.

Sadly it's depressingly common.

Yeah, it's funny how all the people talking about things happening have been in the daylight... when people are around, night is actually probably safer 😂

If I had night vision goggles or thermal goggles then I may consider it, otherwise properly not unless I had a full detailed plan of the area, marking all escape routes etc.

Wouldn't do it . Wouldn't feel comfortable to sadly unless I had a cane corso / protection trained dog like a mali 😂

Clicked YABU by accident, meant to put YANBU

How utterly depressing that 63% have voted YABU.

YADNBU at all OP. Can only imagine the pearl clutchers of MN are out in force.

You are so SO much more likely to be killed at home by your husband

My fat finger typing contributed to that, meant to put YANBU 😭

You can change your vote. Just go back and click YANBU

I go running alone in isolated areas in the dark, and I like it. I’ve always felt far safer in isolated areas than urban areas.

BUT, I deliberately don’t carry a light, I wear dark non-reflective clothing, and I don’t regularly run the same route. Why? To make me difficult to follow or find in the dark - even if I were one day unlucky enough to cross paths with a rambling rapist, I’d have a very good chance of being able to run away and not be caught as he’d be more surprised than me !

Its people who are dangerous, not the dark or the rural environment per se.

Go ahead. I used to walk my dogs just before I went to bed in various locations near London then Scotland. I taught defence courses and learned from ongoing research how to stay as safe as possible. Factors like varying the route and time, keeping all senses alert but most importantly being aware of what’s going on around you. Don’t tell anyone who doesn’t need to know that you’re out at this time.

Take a torch but don’t use it unless you have to. Instead develop your night vision. Very few nights are completely dark. I had an alarm and my car keys to hand, also phone.

I loved these walks, they cleared my head and the dogs loved them also. Some family members were appalled I did this but then when we lived in the country, some visitors complained there were no street lights and that they felt unsafe driving on country roads!

This.

We as women should be able to go anywhere but the reality is women have and continue to get raped and murdered by evil men who take advantage of women walking on their own. It even happens in the day. Its not just that though, people get attacked because people want to steal their dog. I'd rather be alive and my pets be safe and not risk it then go for it because I have the right and take the risk of what could happen.

I wouldn't.

I scoffed and lectured my family on being perfectly safe, thank you very much,
running in my local country park during lockdown. Recently a woman was murdered there and another sexually assaulted just months after. So tragic that’s the world we have to live in as women, how much I’d like to have believed it was different.

All the women who were murdered can't come on this thread to advise you against it. Most of the ones who were assaulted probably don't want to dredge up their trauma and have avoided this thread.

At the end of the day, do what you want.

And of all the people who officially report an assault, how many are there who didn't?

I've got a big dog who's protective, police use them as protection dogs she's obviously not trained for this but I've seen how she is so feel pretty safe, I wouldn't without a dog though!

I can’t even begin to work out how many miles I have walked in the dark. I also used to come home late from work at night on foot and still often walk back from the town after a night at the pub doing about 6miles. I love the night, the air, the moon and the nocturnal creatures. I have been assaulted in my life but never out at night and it’s not lucky - I would be unlucky if something happened. It wouldn’t be my fault. The county side and park feels much safer than the town to be. Well it is statistically too and I know which I prefer.

Give over. The chances of anything happening are tiny.

Men are far more likely to be attacked by men than women. Women are far more likely to be attacked by men they know than strangers.

We do not live in a world where men are generally predators and women are generally victims. Most of us just live our lives.

Cool off on the drama and go for a nice evening jog. It’ll reduce your anxiety.

Nope. I just wouldn’t put myself in that position. Why risk it?
In some of the big parks, farming areas and moors around me, there are poachers, hare trappers, fly tippers, diggers, men found with camo gear and hunting knives and at least two of those weirdos had night vision.

I walk and run alone at night a lot. It's the only time I bloody well get to be alone.

Just looked at the stats, 6 in 7 rapes in the UK are by people known to the person and 1 in 3 rapes are in the victims own home.

So basically the OP is more at risk at home with her partner than in the country park.

I know nighttime is dark and scary but as a PP said at the start of the thread it's your dad, husband, boss, sports coach, neighbour, friend's husband that you should be more scared of.

I absolutely refuse to stop doing things I want to do in case I get attacked- especially as all the recent high profile cases happened in the day.

But dogs are fairly simple creatures, what if the perpetrator tempts your dog with food (could be potentially unsafe/poisonous) or throws something to distract them. Or has a weapon on them? The same weapons that harm you can harm your pets. Don’t get me wrong, a massive snarling german shepherd is likely to be a deterrent but not a safety blanket. I’ve certainly read about crimes committed against women walking dogs.