to ask if anyone has a LONG walking commute every day

[Consideringparttime]

Right, I just cannot embed exercise at the gym or swimming in my normal day to day life.
It's a combination of very stressful job, not enough headspace etc etc

I absolutely love walking though- I recently read an article that said Martin Lewis walks 25k steps a day and he builds it in to his meetings etc

I'm interested in this - my walk to work would be between 50-60 minutes per day
(and then again at the end of the day)

What do you think?

I know people will say will I want to do it at the end of the day? And to me, that seems easier than then getting in the car, going to the gym, getting changed, blah blah blah. I'm also interested in getting that amount of fresh air/ outside time- am i being stupid?

I walk my dogs round the woods alone in the dark ! I’m sure op is capable of walking home and we’re not all afraid of the dark ( bad things also happen in the day btw …..)

What's the route like? Not quite as long, but my commute includes a 30 minute walk from the train station. The distance is fine but half of it is along a busy road with a pavement barely 2 feet wide, which doesn't feel safe at all. There is a cemetery next to said road that you can cut through, but it's locked at sunset (and I wouldn't feel safe doing it after dark anyway) so in the winter I take the bus instead.

Walking to work is The Best. I've not been able to do it for ages tbh. My last job was too far to walk really (I did it a couple of times in the snow) tho i used to run occasionally or cycle more often. It was about 3.5 miles – a good 50-min walk and I often needed to be home to take the DC to activities so it wasn't practical. Is yours a similar distance @Consideringparttime? If less, then yes and you could do it in less time (assuming you are fit and healthy). If it really is 60 mins then that's a long way. Perfectly doable tho. Do you ever need to be home by a specific time?

I agree get a jacket with high-vis so you can be seen; and good shoes. Also if possible have an alternative option if it's raining. Tbh tho when I cycled regularly to work it would only be raining at 8am about once every couple of months. People always think it will be raining but not so much. I would happily cycle home in the rain no worries. The good thing about an active commute is that you have to do it (or stay in the office haha) so it forecs you to do the exercise.

And as for the walking in the dark concern - wtaf? sorry but if you won’t walk in the dark on your own you are so very much limiting yourself. Do you never go out to the local shop or round to a friend’s after 4pm in December @Njbbdss ?

I used to walk 45 mins each way. It was in Eastern Europe so a fair time of the year was in the snow where it was more sliding along in the snow and ice which to be fair I loved. Never been so fit or slim! 15 years later or so and I am 4 stone heavier and a very great deal less healthy!

Slightly baffled at the problem with the dark. What's unsafe about it? OP's walking home from work, not yomping through a warzone. It's dark at 4.30 now - do you never leave the house after sunset? How do you get home from work without setting foot outside in the dark?

I guess if it's a type of route you can give up half way through and get public transport or a taxi, then it'd be fine.

Not so much if you're somewhere really remote so have no choice but to continue if you feel knackered.

You'll probably get used to it though. I love walking but can't do it much anymore.

Hiya

Yes to answer questions - the route is safe and I'm happy to walk in the dark - the latest I would be leaving work on any night would be 5.30pm and that is twice a week .

Very occasionally I will have a late night when I will likely drive.
I'm thinking of trying it a couple of times soon to see how I get on. I could also park halfway along the route.

I’m baffled that some people are baffled. Not everyone lives where a commute on foot is populated by people and shops and cafes. Walking home at 5 pm in the dark
in some places is clearly safer than in other places.

is this another one of those situations where posters can’t comprehend that other peoples lives are different from theirs?

For me at that time of day is the risk of being hit by a car or something. Someone being a bit fast of their marks at lights and not actually seeing you.

But thats a mix of dark clothes, modern street lights and the risk of drivers being blinded by really bright headlights coming towards them.

I'm not saying everyone needs to be in worker grade Hi-vis reflective stuff, but even light coloured piping or reflictive bits on a coat would help.

I have lived in the middle of the countryside and in a town. I have lived in places with roads with no footpaths at all and places with streetlights and dodgy characters. In none of those places have I been unable to walk places at 6pm. In the countryside I took a torch and a fluorescent jacket and in the town I keep my wits about me.

Not exactly a commute but I walk my son to nursery every day, then work from
home - 2 miles each way, so 8 miles for me altogether (4 for him but he’s in a pram!). If it’s really crap weather then I’ll drive but I try to avoid that.

I like it, I think any exercise that you can work into your daily routine is great.

Agree. I have always walked at least part of the way to and from work. I have walked in cities, towns and countryside after dark. There really isnt someone on every corner ready to do you harm. Yes there may be some people who would want to do you harm but there always was. I only see this kind of blanket, women cant go out alone after dark other own on mumsnet. In my real life experience women of all ages carry on with their lives in the dark. They walk to and from work, they go for walks, run, cycle, go to the gym.

I used to walk an hour each way in London along the river. Loved it. Best commute I ever had. Plug into a podcast and get into the day or relax at the end of it. Highly recommended if you enjoy walking.

I used to walk 3 miles to and from work every day - you get good at it (i.e. you will walk faster) and as you say, it's a great way to stay active and burn a few extra calories.

But where are you talking about? Seriously?

I live on the edge of a city. I have walked in the dark in the city, in my suburb, on side roads, on main roads. What are people worried about? I refuse to stay indoors after 4pm for three months of the year.

As far as crossing a road goes, I always make sure a car has stopped on a zebra or other crossing anyway - and that's in the daylight too.

Otherwise - yes there really isn't an attacker at every street corner. And if there were, what is to stop them attacking in the daytime? I just went out on my lunchbreak and there were a lot fewer people around than there will be at 5.30pm tbh.

Agree - I frequently walk in places which aren't busy, don't have cafes or pavements - or even street lighting.

If someone doesn't fancy it - fair enough. What stood out, was the implication that someone might genuinely not leave their house unless it's daylight. Given the winter hours of darkness in the UK, that would be pretty restrictive!

I'd do it, OP! My regular commute is 10 mins walk to the station, train, then 20 mins walk at the other end, but during Covid I used to walk into work which took me over an hour. I also swim in an outdoor pool 3x a week and usually then walk 30 mins to the pool and either 30 mins back home (if working at home) or about 15 mins with a train in the middle in to work. I love walking, even in wet weather, and you see so much more than you do using other modes of transport.

Can you have a shower at work? If it was me doing that walk each morning I’d turn up to work a sweaty stinky mess!

Its a walk, you really shouldn't end up a sweaty mess in a 50min walk.

I think having a torch and being seen is very important
I was on a country road the other day at dusk, passed a lady with a pram. I was on them before I noticed them, and too late to really slow for them, which I would normally do if I'm passing people on the road.

I walk an hour (around 4 miles) each way. Mostly love it, especially in the mornings. Don’t love it so much in heavy rain, but I have waterproofs and they keep me as dry as possible. I listen to podcasts, or music. It’s a great way you can get some extra exercise into my day.

I’d love this. I cycle 30 mins each way and I’d prefer an hour walk as there would be less things to think about (clothing,lights, locks)

Agreed. I walk through a deserted town centre (with the odd homeless person in a doorway) to the gym at 9pm. I feel like some on Mumsnet would melt into a puddle at the very thought.

I've lived rurally with no streetlights or foothpaths, in quiet country towns and in bustling cities - I have never once felt unsafe walking on my own in the dark.

As you’re starting in Winter I would begin with the drive and park part way for now. Or - if you’re in the office every day - do the full route once or twice a week and the part drive option the rest of the week.