The dark side of travelling alone

[motacyclist]

I think I will buy a very large pair of men’s boots and leave them outside the door!

https://dailym.ai/2L3RjBi

 

[Stoneybroke]

Pepper spray may be ok in Australia and parts of Europe but is illegal in the UK.
Hairspray or a fire extinguisher would be part of the stuff you have to hand in your van, however....

 

[hirsty]

typical Daily Mail clickbait horses***

any excuse to get a picture of a girl in a bikini featured, ideally whilst simultaneously criticising her life choices and/or making it out to be perilous by extrapolating out from a tiny number of tragedies.

victim blaming & stoking fear of crime is their stock-in-trade.

 

[Eber123]

Good afternoon,

I believe safety is important for single travel as it is for a group (family).

But one needs to separate between facts / real safety concerns and feeling save.

I was never a brave person, but the thought to stay overnight "wild camping" is not very appealing to me. That has nothing to do with the real problem, I just won't feel save (maybe it has something to do with my age and knowing my limits).

Also it is important where one is. In the middle of a natural park in eg. Sweden, miles away from everybody might be different then on the outskirts of a city, staying overnight somewhere without research of the area.

At the end it is common sense. Where can I park, where can I stay overnight, how to park for a fast escape, doing the research, is somebody trustworthy nearby etc.

Regards,
Eberhard

 

[GrannyJen]

A lot about safety is common sense and was stated in that article.

I wild camp often, single woman on her own.

Only use internal screens, keep the drivers seat facing forward, park facing the exit, let someone know where you are and expect to be and don't advertise your presence on social media. I carry attack alarms, something that I have done for years anyway, make sure keys are to to hand when going to bed and make sure I have a phone signal.

At the end of the day the Cali is a hugely secure vehicle, probably more secure than my own home and if I can happily feel safe there then why not in my Cali?

 

[Velma's Dad]

typical Daily Mail clickbait horses***

any excuse to get a picture of a girl in a bikini featured, ideally whilst simultaneously criticising her life choices and/or making it out to be perilous by extrapolating out from a tiny number of tragedies.

victim blaming & stoking fear of crime is their stock-in-trade.

I loved this bit: "Ms Chambers isn't the only one taking precautions like this, with a number of other solo female travellers recently sharing the lengths they go to to stay safe."... then a string of quotes from those "other solo female travellers". Cut/pasted from the self-same Facebook group, presumably.

Typical piece of tabloid non-journalism.

 

[hirsty]

I was encouraged to see a report the other day about how sceptical younger people are about the media & newspapers in particular - I strongly believe that the older one is the more likely you are to take what's presented as being Gospel. Just because "it was in the paper".

Once you've seen the light & realised the sole purpose of newspapers is to sell more newspapers then everything becomes a little more obvious - that now extends to adverts placed on webpages too, which is surely why the Daily Mail 'sidebar of shame' contains so many women in swimwear, seemingly irresistible to both sexes.

See also (though now a bit out of date) for more fear mongering: http://expressbingo.org.uk

 

[Loz]

The article didn’t mention if she had ever been gassed?

 

[BikerGran]

I camp on my own, including wild camping and stopovers in pub car parks. If I'm alone or almost alone I keep the roof down and the drivers seat in place ready to go, and lock the doors. Other than that, I don't really worry about it as I never camp anywhere that doesn't 'feel' safe. I'm 71 and full of arthritis and the only difference age has made to me is that I need several days rest after being away for a week.

Oh and it's also the reason for having my Cali!

 

[motacyclist]

Daily Mail 'sidebar of shame' contains so many women in swimwear, seemingly irresistible

That's not a recent phenomenon, a friend loaned me a 1973 motorbike mag and it's full of adverts like this one. What the lady has to do with the product I've no idea!

 

[Digger]

The reality is it is more unsafe to walk along any city or town centre street after dark or when the pubs come out. Park sensibly and there is little to be concerned about. ( or just use proper camp sites )

 

[rod_vw]

Why should a 'proper' camp site be any safer? You are parked amongst people you don't know and are mostly all strangers to one another. The campsite owner / manager does not know anything about the campers, any one or group of them could be on site intent on all sorts of mischief!

At lease wild camped you are not surrounded by dozens of unknowns.

As everyone has said above park sensibly and weigh-up your surroundings when you stop. We have stopped overnight in hundreds of wild spots and Aires, every time we (hopefully) assess the surroundings correctly. Only a couple of times have we moved on rather than stay, once just because of the 'vibes' and once because there were a lot of 'gens de voyage' {https://journals.openedition.org/belgeo/14864} camped down the road and members of their fraternity seemed to be casing the Aire.

We are currently just starting our fifth week away in Europe and parked on only the second campsite having moved almost every day and used Aires & Stellplatz in all sizes from 2 places to 30 places but usually on the smallest and most rural. Two and a half weeks to go doing much the same!

Rod

 

[T6 CFO]

Why should a 'proper' camp site be any safer? You are parked amongst people you don't know and are mostly all strangers to one another. The campsite owner / manager does not know anything about the campers, any one or group of them could be on site intent on all sorts of mischief!

At lease wild camped you are not surrounded by dozens of unknowns.

As everyone has said above park sensibly and weigh-up your surroundings when you stop. We have stopped overnight in hundreds of wild spots and Aires, every time we (hopefully) assess the surroundings correctly. Only a couple of times have we moved on rather than stay, once just because of the 'vibes' and once because there were a lot of 'gens de voyage' {https://journals.openedition.org/belgeo/14864} camped down the road and members of their fraternity seemed to be casing the Aire.

We are currently just starting our fifth week away in Europe and parked on only the second campsite having moved almost every day and used Aires & Stellplatz in all sizes from 2 places to 30 places but usually on the smallest and most rural. Two and a half weeks to go doing much the same!

Rod

I agree. Definitely one of the main reasons for getting a Cali was the ability to wild camp.

Only time we were a bit uneasy was a motorway stop in France and an Aires in Spain. Motorway one was just an uneasy felling with the layout of the place. Couple of further attempts and we found a nice spot with the heavies at the back of a service station, couple of smiles and thumbs up with the drivers and we slept like babies.
Time in Spain we just moved on as it didn’t feel right.

More often than not when it’s just a stop for a kip we find ourselves surrounded by big whites doing the same. So safety in numbers. Normally pretty quiet as well as everyone just wants to get there heads down and a kip.

Bottom Line is if your going to wild camp somewhere unknown try to arrive early so you have the option to move on. If it feels wrong, move.



Mike

 

[GrannyJen]

After a few hundred nights away, about 2/3rds of those wild camping or aires, the only time that I have felt physically threatened and had to call for help was on a 4* campsite in Belgium.

 

[Velma's Dad]

That's not a recent phenomenon, a friend loaned me a 1973 motorbike mag and it's full of adverts like this one. What the lady has to do with the product I've no idea!

Maybe she is a biker who is keen to avoid that "perspiring and fatigued" bottom. Other than that I have no idea.

 

[rod_vw]

After a few hundred nights away, about 2/3rds of those wild camping or aires, the only time that I have felt physically threatened and had to call for help was on a 4* campsite in Belgium.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[kaf2546]

I was encouraged to see a report the other day about how sceptical younger people are about the media & newspapers in particular - I strongly believe that the older one is the more likely you are to take what's presented as being Gospel. Just because "it was in the paper".

Once you've seen the light & realised the sole purpose of newspapers is to sell more newspapers then everything becomes a little more obvious - that now extends to adverts placed on webpages too, which is surely why the Daily Mail 'sidebar of shame' contains so many women in swimwear, seemingly irresistible to both sexes.

See also (though now a bit out of date) for more fear mongering: http://expressbingo.org.uk

yes proud our kids don't go near Daily Fail etc, taught them to research themselves, cross check..