Encounter in the woods with a man...was I being silly?

[Woodwalk]

I walk in a local woods daily. Today I parked in the small car park where there were around 4 cars already. Changed into my boots, tied up my hair, no one else arrived in this time. Then I set off down a trail which begins running alongside the main road to the right, to the left is an inaccessible woodland - too dense to walk through. You can only enter the trail from the car park (at that end).

I had only been walking for around a minute or two when I got the sensation I was being watched/followed. This is strange as I would only have expected to meet someone head on on the path - given that there's one entrance and I saw no one else arrive at the car park within a minute of myself.

Anyway I turned round a few times and finally spotted a man behind me, slightly off the trail nearer to the side where the road is (trees are between the main road and me). I immediately did feel uncomfortable as I wasn't sure where he had come from, and debated stopping so that he could move ahead of me. I decided against this as didn't want to make a big thing of it.

Instead I kept going and took a turn off into a large shaded area, a clearing where I could see the original trail and find a little tree trunk to sit on (and look normal!) as he passed.

Instead of passing the man followed me into the clearing. I had walked quite far into the clearing to find a tree that gave a lot of space around me. He made a beeline for me straight towards me. I felt scared, and then he met my eyes and asked how my day was going. I immediately went into flight mode jumped up blurted out something about not wanting to be followed on my walk and started to run back to the car park (around 6 mins running). He shouted after me to come back, he didn't mean to scare me, he hadn't been following me, he was lost, he was sorry, come back please.

I just ran all the way back to the car and left.

I'm a woman in early 30s the gent was late fifties I think, and very overweight, if he tried to follow me back I couldn't tell, but don't think he could have matched my pace. He didn't have a dog, but then, neither do I.

Now I'm wondering, was he innocently lost and wanted a chat? Was I being silly to run away? It doesn't really matter now as I'm obviously safe and fine but the woods is my favourite place to go and I feel really put off returning now. Need a reality check as feel a bit silly now but in the moment I was scared.

If he was lost then surely he would have stated that instead of just asking how your day was going. I always think it's best to trust your instincts but it pisses me off that women always have to be on guard like this! Creepy to then ask you to come back...

@Woodwalk

"I did feel a bit silly/impolite to run off but I also just thought I can't risk this so did it anyway. It was only afterwards when I was back in the safe, locked, air conditioned car that I started to really feel like I'd been over reacting and rude!"

Do not feel guilty. Women have historically been conditioned to smile like a nice little girl and indulge men's shit, even at the expense of their own safety or dignity. I wish I had my time over again - there'd be a few changes.

I'm sure we all know lots of them.

It's probably at least one in 10. And that's just the rapists. There will be emotional abusers galore.

Wouldn't trust 1 in 3 men as far a I could throw them tbh. TBF I feel the same about around 1 in 5 women.

The one that locks your phone, mine is on the right hand side. You have to press very quickly though.

I posted a photo of what it looks like a few posts back.

You did the right thing reporting it. I would have too.

Better to feel embarrassed rather than be wishing you had run.

I would be changing my daily walk this sounds beyond weird. If he was lost he could have gone near road and flagged a car down or walked to nearest farm or cottage etc

Really?

"What's in the van?"

That's so hard to believe.

Mine is a Samsung and also has the SOS and I only need to press a certain button quickly twice as I've set it that way

1. Go to Settings > Emergency SOS.
2. Do any of the following:
3. Turn Call with Hold on or off: Press and hold the side and volume buttons to start a countdown to call emergency services.
4. Turn Call with 5 presses on or off:Rapidly press the side button five times to start a countdown to call emergency services.

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/personal-safety/ips4f0cd709b/web

@TourdeFrance2025 @godmum56

As the saying goes “f*ck politeness”. Your instinct exists for a reason. This man’s behaviour was not the type of behaviour I was expecting from someone who was genuinely lost. I would really advise not going back to these woods alone OP, and follow your instinct and report it to the police. Maybe invest in something like pepper spray? Bodycam? Alarm?

Unfortunately, pepper spray is illegal to carry in the uk. But small cans of hairspray, deodorant or even some Deep Heat, for those troublesome muscle spasms is perfectly legal. 😇

You can get out if you keep going, without turning back around, but it takes around 40 minutes, it eventually leads back to the same car park but at a different point (not the same place I entered). It's the route I was planning to take but felt too long to keep going with him behind me. It was either keep going, wait in the clearing for him to pass, or turn around and walk past him to go back the way I came but I didn't want to cross paths on a narrow trail, so I chose to divert into the larger clearing. I'm not sorry I chose that overall as continuing the walk would have been too stressful.

I hear you, and others. Living rurally this is something I've done my whole life but only in daytime and daylight. Ive probably been lucky as not had an encounter like this before but I do now feel I won't be able to continue and feel really sad about it. It's a really magical place very quiet and peaceful but I think I'll stick to national trust places which are staffed and probably safer.

Totally this. Better to be rude or feel silly than to end up in an unsafe situation. Sadly we have been taught to put men’s comfort before our own, even strangers.

If he was innocent you've potentially opened his eyes about how women perceive that sort of interaction alone in the woods and hopefully won't do it again.

If it wasn't innocent that you have kept yourself safe.

Definitely don't worry about overreacting. You didn't what felt best in the moment which counts for a lot.

you have to drive to get there and walk through the car park to the entrance to the trail).
The man either had parked up after I did in a very quiet electric car (or I would have heard the engine) and arrived at the start of the trail moments after I entered very quickly as it was such a small window of time, which could explain why I didn't know he was behind me (very unlikely), or had entered shortly beforehand

This doesn’t make sense.

You say you have to drive to get there but you think he was there before you but there were also no other cars in the carpark?

You did the right thing by keeping yourself safe but I think that the fact you were spooked by him coming from the same direction as you, means you were probably already over heightened.

There are many weirdos out there and so I think you were right to leave because it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Instead of passing the man followed me into the clearing. I had walked quite far into the clearing to find a tree that gave a lot of space around me. He made a beeline for me straight towards me. I felt scared, and then he met my eyes and asked how my day was going. I immediately went into flight mode jumped up blurted out something about not wanting to be followed on my walk and started to run back to the car park (around 6 mins running). He shouted after me to come back, he didn't mean to scare me, he hadn't been following me, he was lost, he was sorry, come back please.

He wasn't lost.

He was lingering near the car park area and then started following you when you hit the trail.

He didn't call out when he saw you to indicate he was lost. He followed you.
I would report him to whoever maintains/owns the park (charity organisation, local council) or police.

If I ever feel unsafe but unsure if I am overreacting, I always pretend to talk on my phone.

I would have said I’m in the woods where are you and then say ok I’ll meet you back at the carpark and start walking that way.

Always always trust your gut!!

A (male) boss once gave me this advice when I told him I ran 5k every day and felt safe running in my own neighbourhood, even in the dark. Oddly, it had never occurred to me but I was very grateful for this advice from him.

Op, this interaction was dodgy as hell and actually made the hairs on my arms stand on end. Follow your instinct, it's there for a reason and if he was truly genuine/ innocent then perhaps next time he'll think about how his actions might make a young, lone woman feel.

There were 4 other cars in the car park

I wouldn't be alone in the woods in the first place.

Just to say I don't agree with a previous poster who said you overreacted. That would have really alarmed me too. At best he was oblivious, but tbh I wouldn't have trusted him an inch after behaving as you described. You did the only sensible thing. Reporting it as a suspicious incident was also sensible, imho.

If by any chance he was actually harmless, maybe now he'll learn not to make women acutely uncomfortable by lurking and following them.

I do now feel I won't be able to continue [walking in these woods] and feel really sad about it. It's a really magical place very quiet and peaceful but I think I'll stick to national trust places which are staffed and probably safer.

And one more woman has a harmless pleasure destroyed by a selfish man who treats women as service machines.

The man was creepy.

See, that wasn't difficult at all, Viv.

This makes me so sad and angry that women always feel they have to change their behaviour, even down the places they choose to frequent. That's not a criticism of you, op, but a criticism of the way things are.