Living 4 doors away from woods? Will this be a bit scary?!

[CarolDR]

We’ve seen a lovely house. It’s fourth from the end of the road then it goes into a narrow unmade road and woods for a good few miles. Lovely for dog walkers etc (we have cats but no dog). I can’t help wondering if I’d feel a bit unsafe, especially if I was on my own at night! There is only one house opposite, although there is a road of houses nearby. DH loves the idea and next door but one has horses in a nearby field. No through traffic except vehicles for the farm a mile or so up. Does anyone have any thoughts/ experience of this? Thanks

We lived in a converted farm house on the edge of the Pennines for 20 years.
No nearby neighbours, accessed by a long dirt track and no street lights.
We did have a couple of dogs and a good alarm system and even though my Dh worked away quite often, I was never nervous, it never entered my head to be fair.

We had a house that backed onto 11 acres of wood and were the last house on the street, down a private lane. It wasn't particularly scary but I did used to close the dining room curtains so I didn't scare myself with my own reflection at night!

If you look in those woods you will see one more house. The windows are long since cracked and fallen away and moss creeps up the old stone walls. The air inside the barren house, beyond the swinging wooden door is heavy and cold. Inside it is very silent. No one has lived there since the big fire. The walls whisper to you at night in your dreams and you can imagine the dark corners of it, when you close your eyes.

Don't forget the bison.

I'm with the OP, I would definitely be spooked.
I would want to like it but I don't think I would.

I thought initially it sounded perfect, but then when I thought about why you'd possibly be scared I started thinking about The Blair Witch Project and I can see your dilemma 🤔

Not for me unless I had a dog or two. I’d love it during the day but be creeped out at night. At least with a dog/s they’d alert you of anything.

Until recently we lived on a common with no neighbours and no street lights.

It was literally pitch black and in the middle of nowhere.

The only time I was really scared was when a police car pulled up late at night. with his lights flashing, and the officer then came to the door. I thought something awful had happened (they'd come to the wrong address)!!

Our house backs onto woods, although we're on a suburban street so more people around. The woods are so lovely, I think I'll struggle to leave here. We have birdsong all the time, lots of squirrels and foxes (noisy buggers), occasionally deer walk down the road, and the woods themselves feel like my friend as I walk in then so much and know all the paths and nice spots. There are so many dog walkers, even in the middle of the night you see a torch and lit up collars go bobbing along the path.

We do get a bit of antisocial behaviour in summer - kids with quad bikes and drinking teens - but it's infrequent enough that it doesn't bother me compared to the benefits of the woods.

Don't ever read the spooky MN Savernake story thread. 😱

Oh, just be aware that you hear some very scary noises.

The first time I heard foxes screaming late at night it frightened the life out of me. If I'd heard that screaming whilst living in a city centre then I'd call the police!

Sounds lovely. Can I come too?

I should have added living next to a wood on the people you're jealous of thread.

I wouldn't want to live near Tiger Woods but all other ones would be fine!

Indeed. Balls everywhere I should imagine.

I wouldn't worry. The woods will probably get sold off, the trees cleared and a new estate built.

Surprisingly you'll likely find this lane, being a cul-de-sac for vehicles will be safer than you'd think. My friend lives in a similar situation, has lived there for nearly 30 years. A long country lane, ending in a footpath. Sadly they've built housing further up, on both sides of the lane now - the first side was built on 25 years ago, the recent other side was finished 2 or 3 years ago, all excessible from a road the other end of the footpath.
She reckons, because it's a dead end for vehicles, that they don't get burglars because the exit route for vehicles could easily be blocked off by police etc. None of the houses in the dead end bit of the road have ever to her knowledge been burgled. However there have been folk used the lane for tipping and dumping stuff, once there was the cash drawer from a till, and the county lines kids use it for drugs which she always reports. If there's nothing beyond the house but farm, then you'll likely have nothing but owls, foxes deer, as does my friend. Plus badger in the woods.

Nothing to worry about OP.

though I'm interested to know what you are worried about? I don't think it's more likely to be targeted by burglars, I'd say less likely.

We live on the edge of town, our house is directly opposite some farmland on the hillside, with trees dotted about, & some ancient woodland just beyond at the bottom of the hill. We get bats, owls most nights (not on nights like tonight, they hide from the storm). It’s usually really quiet when it’s not blowing an absolute gale.

Part of Me would love this

Peace
Quiet
Wildlife
are the plus side

However

Quiet (ironically)
Possibly pretty dark of a night
Remote (though your one doesn't sound remote as such)
Random serial killers (sorry, lol, but that ties in with my watching too many horror films and reading such in books)

😆😆
I loved that thread

Unsafe in your own house? Just because it’s near a wood, but on a normal residential street 4 houses away from the wood? I honestly don’t understand this fear.

I missed it ☹️

We’re on a road like this, but we are the end house, so can literally touch woodland if we walk outside our gate.
Our garden regularly looks like a scene out of a Disney movie with all the animals (which as ex townies we LOVE!)
Never felt unsafe, it’s very peaceful normally, though be warned, owls and foxes are noisy at 3am!

It would make me irrationally scared too. But if you think about it logically, anything dodgy will happen in the woods and not at your house. Do it, sounds amazing!