What age did YOU walk to school by yourself?

[StripeyKnickersSpottySocks]

Just interested how much things have changed.

I was 5 or 6 and that was in the early 1980s.

11 in the 80s, but it was a reasonable distance and would have been allowed younger but had two younger sisters and wasn't considered able to superise them.

Four. Small village. Hardly any cars. There was one boy in the whole village whose mum walked him to school and we secretly despised him.

6 in 1975. With a friend though, not on my own.

From day two of primary school I walked with one of the "big" girls (next door's 8 year old). I think it was just a case of as soon as my mum was sure we knew the way.

This was late 70s, small town.

About 7 or 8 in the 70s, with my younger sisters.

7 but, there was a large group of us and a couple of them were in the year above us. Ds went by himself at 8 because we are just round the corner from the school and his friend (who's gps lived 3 doors down) walked with him.

I didn't. Went to schools that were too far away from home. Went on the school coach or bus from about 7yr of age as far as I remember.

Because we thought he was a baby. She also made him wear grey flannel shorts when everyone else wore jeans. We were not very nice children, and reared on Enid Blyton as we were thought it was OK to look down on other children for being 'wet'.

Once I was in the Juniors - so 7. It wasn't far though.

7 but had to walk with my older sister (age then 8 and a half.. she always emphasised the half)

I was 5, in the late 60s. On my own, and with two roads to cross. I look at it now and think my mother must have been off her rocker to have even considered it!

From the age of 6 all I had to do was climb over the fence at the bottom of the garden and I was in the school playing field so that was that.

At 8 I was changing buses in the centre of Dublin as part of my route home from school. I once missed the connection and stood crying on the street - a passing couple stopped and drove me all the way home. Terrifying to think what could have happened.

i was about 8, and by 9 was walking my sis who was 5!!!

Me and mum were talking about this the other day. It was quite a way too, but the norm in the late 70's!!

7ish, 8ish, I think. Sometimes my dad walked with me on his way to work, sometimes I walked alone. It was about half a mile, mostly dirt tracks through a strip of urban wasteland (Ankara, 70s).
Sometimes I had to walk home alone too and remember being terrified after a film club screening of The Land that Time Forgot, imagining dinosaurs lurking behind the bushes.
Sometimes I'd go and play in the building sites en route, lots of planks/deep pools of water

We had to get a bus to school. I always walked to the bus stop with my older brothers and sister so 4 or 5. That was in the late 1970's.

6/7 was about 2 miles, I was the only one who walked that route.

I get the picture that people (myself included) probably walked at an earlier age than they'd dream of letting their own kids.

There is no greater risk of child abduction now than what there was in the 1970s. But people are more worried about it. My dd wouldn't have any roads to cross but I can't magine letting her walk to school until she's at least 9.

Yes I walked home alone, a few times at that age, through the park aswell and the park had a resident FLASHER!

In the mid 70's in the US I walked with friends from the age of 6. Back in UK mum would cross my sisters amd me over the A27 and we would walk rest of way alone, about 3/4 mile.

8 - we would have walked before that but we lived too far from school.

We also had a resident flasher; used to cause us great amusement IIRC ......

From starting school at 4.5 - on a housing estate in the late 70's - the teachers used to cross us over the road after school! I've let my dd walk from 8 although again doesn't have any proper roads to across other than the ones with lollipop people. However they were not allowed to leave school without being collected until year 3!

Funny how that flasher thing is not so amusing when you're a parent. We also thought it amusing Wisteria and he was never just a flasher, he was a FLASHER! in capital letters.

I let my son walk to school (v safe and quick route - 500 yards) from age 9. When he was 11 he invited a boy for tea, and I telephoned the mother to tell her that my son walked home and her son could walk with him if that was ok. She ummed and ahhhhed and I said that I would go and fetch them if she was at all worried, I also said they are going to High school in a few short months - she agreed that walking was fine. But on the day, a big 4WD rolled up outside my house containing two eleven year olds - apparently she couldn't let hher son walk - she was too worried. I just laughed.

from the age of 7