Scared to walk home!

[Madtherapist]

I am going out for a drink tomorrow, just to a pub in the town, and I’m actually a bit worried about the walk home, it won’t be too late, maybe 10/10.30, my husband offered to pick me up, or I could get a taxi, but now I think maybe I should just pull up my big girl pants and just walk, it’s roughly 20 mins.
does anyone else get like this? Am I just being overly paranoid and dramatic!
it’s definitely something I didn’t really think about in my younger days, how unsafe it can actually be, I used to walk miles in the early hours of the morning just to get home after a night out.

If it's more of a pyschological thing, why don't you build up more slowly - go for a walk at dusk, or 8pm, go with your husband to get some confidence, walk around earlier.

A lot is walking with confidence and looking like you know where you are going and being aware of your surroundings and knowing the way well enough that if you need to go a different way (say there's some people you don't fancy walking past) you have got enough local knowledge to know there's an equally well lit/busy route you can take.

Staggering home drunk with your heels in your hand at 2 am is a slightly different story..(I may have done that more than once in my youth...).

I would just take the lift.

I used to walk home at like 2am in the pitch black down dark alleys etc when I was around 18.
No way would I do it now. Although people probably would’ve been more interested in attacking me at 18 than they would now!!

I always feel safe enough to walk home but I live in central London where the streets are always well lit and busy. I wouldn’t feel comfortable walking home if I lived more rurally I don’t think.

That said, I’ll always chance my arm and ask DH if he fancies picking me up because I’m a lazy arse!

He is good, and actually he just said he would prefer to pick me up and give the others a lift home.
I never used to even think about the dangers when I was younger, I won’t be drinking to much so I would be fine, but I would enjoy my night out a little more knowing I didn’t have to walk home.

Well I'm not taking any risks but staying is as I have a young child so am not generally out partying in to the night, I also drive and if I go out at night it's usually with DH anyway and we can walk back together. So I don't feel at all limited

A lot of the popular culture I consumed when a teenager was about women being murdered by strangers in police dramas alongside prominent stories in the news so I am very wary when walking by myself in the dark. I will do it on occasion when I judge the risk (location, time of night, ease of getting a taxi which has it's own risks in relation to male violence) or distance is small but my heart is racing especially if I see a man. I will cross the road or walk in the middle of it to avoid potential risks. I will phone my partner to talk to them and then worry I might not hear a potential attacker. I am hyper alert to noises and people. I relax if I see women or small groups. I have walked with keys in my hand. I accept that the actual risks are quite small. But if it did happen the consequences would be so dire I will never be able to not think about it. I will also never walk alone in the countryside even in the day. No my life shouldn't be restricted like this but there's not much I can do about it.

That's sad that you wouldn't walk in the glorious British countryside during the day on your own. That's your choice though.

Does depend where you live to a point but I walk home at 2am in my town

Same. When I was younger (before mobile phones) I wasn't afraid of being out alone after dark but I would totally crap myself now 😅

I don’t walk home round where I live because the street lights (suburb of a city) are pretty much useless and rather sparse. They also, helpfully, opened a halfway house for drink/drug addiction about 5 minutes from where I live (also 5
minutes from DS’ school) and their users can be intimidating

Or cycle, take 10 mins

The chances of something happening are pretty slim, you’re more likely to die in the car ride home.

I refuse to let the small risk of a man attacking me stop me from doing what I want. I wouldn’t walk down a dark country road at night with no pavement but that’s because of the risk of being hit by a car or me falling in a ditch.

Does that not really restrict your life?

I live in the countryside so would struggle not to walk around here!
My teenage daughter was at a friend's house 2 miles away and hadn't realised it was getting dark and I didn't really want her walking on her own. I asked her if she wanted me to arrange a taxi but she said "Mum! I'm not getting into a car with a strange man! I'll walk it" So she did and I set off walking and met her half way, we both had torches and it was fine.
If I'm at a friend's house and we're drinking/ chatting till gone midnight I'll still walk home. I refuse to be scared and restrict my life.

I live in the countryside so would struggle not to walk around here!
My teenage daughter was at a friend's house 2 miles away and hadn't realised it was getting dark and I didn't really want her walking on her own. I asked her if she wanted me to arrange a taxi but she said "Mum! I'm not getting into a car with a strange man! I'll walk it" So she did and I set off walking and met her half way, we both had torches and it was fine.
If I'm at a friend's house and we're drinking/ chatting till gone midnight I'll still walk home. I refuse to be scared and restrict my life.

Sorry don't know how that posted twice!

Perfectly fine to take the lift you are being offered but it is sad that so many women feel like they can't walk alone at night. In some areas its completely understandable, I've been scared walking alone at night in some places but in generally safe areas women should feel ok to walk alone. I am lucky to live in one of those areas and love going for walks after dark as its peaceful and I like the way the streets look different in the dark (as does my DD, she's taken so many pictures of the petrol station in the dark because it looks "so cool" when its dark)

You feel like you feel. I travel a lot a d walk nearly everywhere. The more you do it, the less fear you have. But, there are times which are more difficult and when spidey-senses tingle ... listen to those times.

As women, we're at far more risk at home than we are from some random stranger on the street.