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?

Yes I used to walk three miles to work and back. There was a bus that would take me most if the way if I couldn’t be bothered for the return home but I did it most days. I used to cycle about seven miles to work when in another job but the return journey was a gentle incline so I got fed up with that (plus this was London decades ago when there wasn’t any bike paths).

Just try it. Just do one day a week and see how you go then build it up. I’d love to do this but I work seven miles away. Cycling is not an option either.

I would do this if it wasn’t so hilly on the walk, and I wasn’t carting a heavy laptop bag back and forth. I’ve done the walk there without my bag before and I really enjoyed it. The steep uphill walk with a few kilos on my back, particularly in the dark/cold/wet/heat is sadly what stops me doing it though.

I’d love to figure out a way I could just walk there.

A friend walks 20 miles to work, 2-3 times a week. Cross country. Gets the bus home. He’s unsurprisingly fit as a fiddle. Batshit but in great shape.

My daughter walks about an hour each way to work and enjoys it. To be fair, it’s partly to save the bus fare but she was fed up with the unreliability of the buses and figured that if you’re walking at least you know when you’ll arrive. She has podcasts or music on and feels it has been good for her in loads of ways. Nothing to lose by giving it a go!

For the two years I had one kid in nursery and one in school, mine was just over an hour - fairly fast pace, some of it with pushchair. I'd started WFH (Covid era) and so it was: take DD1 to school, take DD2 to nursery (which was past my house, in the opposite direction, and same location as my work!) then back home to work - and do it all in reverse at the end of the day. We only had one car and there wasn't another feasible option. I actually quite liked it - mostly. Felt very fit and a good brisk stride was a nice bookend to the working day.

I did 1 hour each way for 15 years. Always in the morning and 80% in the evening, unless I went via shops then jumped on bus or tube.

Mine is 20 min walk, 1 hr commute, 20 min walk. It definitely keeps me fit!

What is unsafe about walking g home from work. I walk to and from work, as do about a third of my colleagues. I have done for most of my working life (several decades). What is it that is supposed to be so unsafe? Do you never go out alone after dark?

Yes agree with the last poster. Can you explain please why it is unsafe to be outside alone after dark? And why it is OK to be outside alone in the daylight?

Do you never go out in the dark? It was pretty dark at 4pm tonight. I went out at about 6pm to post a parcel at a nearby shop. Would you do that or not, if it was dark (which it obvs was)?

ETA: I see you have answered. But not really explained why being approached by a man is more unsafe after dark. Is this man going to attack you? The vast majority of people don’t want to do that. Again, I wonder, do you never go out in the dark? If not, you should know that I am over 50, have gone out in the dark on my own many many times in my life, and I have never been approached by a man. Neither has anyone I know. I know that it does happen, but so do RTAs, and I know plenty of people who have been in one. Yet we all still go in the car. Of course we do. And we should go out at night if it suits us.

You are being utterly ridiculous. Do you seriously never go out after dark? I pass numerous men (and women) every day walking to and from work. I often say good morning , hello as we pass. They respond and we both carry on with our day. Your reaction to women being out after dark alone is utterly bizarre.

What's your point?

Apparently a man might approach them.

I've done a walking commute that length before for about 4 months but for about 35/40 mins one way for a lot longer. I did really enjoy it and I think my favourite thing about it was how much it cleared my head at the end of the day especially as I wasn't really enjoying the job i was in then. Only thing is when it's absolutely lashing you need really good waterproof gear for walking in or a change of clothes/shoes as backup in the office. I remember getting sprayed by a car going through a huge puddle and having to dry my clothes to my bra under the hand dryer in work. Also not great in ice and snow. I think it also depends on your working hours and how safe your route feels at the times of your commute and if you'd feel OK doing the same route at the same time in the same days from a safety perspective.

Yeah you sound like you haven't (thankfully) had a close call or a scary experience. Unfortunately others have not been just as lucky. I used to walk back at around 10pm from my shift and vividly remember once when noone else was around and it was a non residential area 3 men running at me and realising that I could do nothing to fight them off. They were running for the train so it was a non issue but it made it very clear to me how bad it could have been. Don't undermine women for worrying about the harms some men can and do inflict on women they think are vulnerable.

Not undermining anyone but we really need to stop with the poor weak little woman that cant go out after dark because of all the big bad men. It does no favours for women at all. You have a higher change of being in an accident while travelling in a car or on public transport than you do of being attacked randomly on the street walking home from work. There are some on here that would have you believe that women are always unsafe when alone. Thats just not true.
By the way, I have had close calls and scary experiences with both men and women in different areas of my life. Not one of those experiences was while walking to or from work.

I cycle to work. However, i don't enjoy winter cycling anymore when it is icy and snowy so I try ti walk to work, about 40min. I hate it. I don't like walking so I've started to take the bus. However, i do have a colleague that walks to the office 45min and she enjoys it.

Go for it. If you don't enjoy it, the make alternative plan. I do have to say that I am not too familiar with Martin Lewis, but on Taskmaster his stepcount seemed borderline OCD so I am not sure I would use him as an inspiration for it.

I do this, albeit 40m rather than your proposed hour. It’s wonderful. Shower on arrival is not necessary (it’s a walk); waterproof shoes and an excellent raincoat are a must. There is the odd awful, wet day, but not as often as you would think. Enjoy.

If I wouldn't go out in the dark, I could not go out in the winter. Weekends are the only time when there is daylight. It is dark when I head to work. It is dark when I come back. It is dark when I go to training etc. I couldn't do anything if I waited for daylight. Safety is important, I don't go through the unlit park alone after 10pm. If your shift ends ar midnight on saturday it is worth considering wether to walk home alone in the dark for an hour. But after regular office hours?

I wfh most of the time but usually go for a 40-60 minute walk before and after work and for as long as I can fit in at lunchtime. I also go for walks if I am dialing into a call where I just need to listen, not contribute. I can get around 25k steps a day and love the time spent outside. And to the person who finds the dark dangerous...I walk in the dark too 😊

20 MILES?? Wouldn't that take well over 5 hours??

I used to love walking to work but when we moved, 15 miles each way was a little too much. It gives you thinking time to plan your day and is a great destressing time at the end of the day. Go for it.

they were running for the train so it was a non issue

Yes @Lavender14 surely that makes my point. They were not running at you. You can walk around in the daylight or in the dark and men, or women, will not suddenly run at you. Yes, if they did, not much you could do. So do you avoid being anywhere non-residential alone? I agree with @rainbowunicorn this narrative makes me angry actually. The perception of risk here (by some people) is ludicrously overstated. The chance of someone attacking you, in day or night, is really small. Of course it is horrific when it happens. I am in no way minimising that. But I refuse to be cowed into submission and stay at home after 4pm for three months of the year because there are a very few unpleasant people out there. You are much much more likely to be harmed doing all kinds of other things that you do without worrying (as you should).

Sorry I call bullpoop!
20 miles would take 5 hours, at a fairly brisk brisk 4mph pace.