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.

My sons have known since they were about 14 to be mindful of how they behave/interact with women in quiet/remote spots to avoid causing alarm. A man in his 50s knows exactly what he’s doing.

You did the right thing and I’d absolutely report it.

I hope you’re ok - I’d have been terrified

Thank god you ran! Predators try to act friendly before pouncing, victims usually let their guard down and ignore their intuition because they feel impolite or silly to just run off.
Let the police know and find somewhere else to run that is less remote.

This is very strange behaviour, giving off warning signals which instantly fired those primival survival instincts rooted in our ancestral past. That gut feeling should always be acted upon as, a bit like Pascal's wager, you have everything to lose by opting out, whereas believing and acting on that belief is a potential saviour.

Never question those instincts, or your own responses, before you question male behaviour. And from reading your account this behaviour would set off immediate alarm bells with me, too. It's certainly not the typical response of a lost person, who I'd expect merely to ask directions rather than lurking around in such a shifty manner. You responded as I would have done.

I also agree with a PP that reporting this via the non-emergency police line is a good idea.

Trust your gut! I'm not normally one to over-react but I think I would report this to 101.

Similar happened to me down a rocky coast trail in my twenties, followed by a man I got a creepy vibe from, I thought he'd turned off the path but then appeared behind me with his trousers down having a wank 🤮

Edited to add- I hope that you're feeling okay and not too shaken ❤️ you did the right thing!

You’re far from silly. You are smart. Yes, he was following you and he had bad intentions. Don’t doubt yourself. Read The Gift of Fear.

I’d be reporting to non emergency police just incase.

I would actually report that and I never usually say that. The location makes it sound very iffy to me.

I’m not someone who’s aware of danger and I walk the streets late at night etc and even I would have been aware in that situation. He would’ve given me the same feeling . Why would a man be hanging around like that in the middle of the day if it was innocent .

I would be making more women aware so they don’t walk over there alone.

I think mental health issues are making people do crazy stuff that is probably innocent and they may just want to chat to someone but they also may be wanting to do more than chat .

In our local NT woods there has been a woman attacked only this week. It's always been thought of as safe round here. Better to be safe than sorry .

This happened to me but luckily I had a very nippy JRT. The guy came straight at me. Sadly I no longer go to that woodland after a fatality. However I did report it to the police and they went to investigate.

You did the right thing.

Maybe consider telling the police?

Sorry your walk was ruined.

If the man was genuinely lost, surely he'd have called over to you 'Excuse me, I'm lost, could you tell me how to get to X'??!! Instead he followed you, and then tried to engage you in small talk. Write down everything you remember about him, then ring the non-emergency number and report the incident. You aren't being silly, you felt uneasy and your survival instinct kicked in - we have it for a reason, it helps keep us safe.

You did exactly the right thing and it’s so fucking depressing.

You were not being silly. I think in situations like the one you have described, trusting your intuition can be absolutely vital.

I often walk alone (well, with my dog who is timid and not remotely a deterrent to any potential threat). I’ll happily talk in passing to lone males I encounter in remote spots.

You weren’t being silly at all OP, trust your instincts. Well done for getting away quickly, a 6 minute run in walking boots isn’t as easy as it sounds!

I agree that it’s worth reporting, a man following women in the woods doesn’t really have an innocent explanation.

Quite terrifying. Thank goodness you acted on your instincts. Please report this.

No! He asked you to go back? That’s creepy. My DH would have been way more self aware than to have done any of that. You did the right thing.

You were definitely right to run and not let him get within grabbing distance of you

You should definitely report it to the police while his description is fresh in your mind.

Basically he was hiding by the trail waiting for you/any woman wasn't he, if there's only one way in and you didn't see any other cars pull up.

Nah he sounded shady as fuck. If he was lost then he would have said it from the second he saw you in the clearing not gone to stand elsewhere. And it would have been 'excuse me do you know which way for xyz?' not any of that how was your day shit.

You have instincts for a reason. I'd also report him and his description to the non emergency number incase he hurts some other women so they know there may be a link.

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!

Usually when you see someone in those woods (and I can easily do an hour's walk and see nobody at all - they're only busy on the weekend) they simply say 'Morning!' and keep on their way. I've never had someone approach me when sitting and asking how my day is or anything, even under usual circumstances. It is quite isolated - nearish a village but just on an a-road. They're a ten minute drive from my house, and on my way home from work. It's not somewhere with toilets or a cafe, it's rural.

I don't walk at the same time every day it does vary a little, yesterday I went at 3.30pm after work. But I think I'll be choosing a different spot for a while. I don't know that anyone would hear an alarm if I set it off, but a body cam might not be a bad idea.

I think I will report it, I felt like it would be a waste of police time but these reactions have made me feel it's not.

He was definitely dodgy, I’d say.

I don’t think he was lost, he would have asked for directions rather than asking how your day was, strangers just don’t do that, it’s really creepy. You did the right thing.

Yeah I’d report this OP. If he was actually lost, he would have started the conversation with “excuse me I’m lost. Can you tell me how to get back to…”.

There’s a story in the news at the moment about a woman who was attacked on her dog walk and died four days later of her injuries. You did exactly the right thing. Dodgy as fuck