I would feel perfectly safe walking where you suggest, and I am extremely cautious. I think the advice on carrying a mobile is good. You can always buy a cheap UK one (Carphone Warehouse is pretty cheap), or check if you can use a foreign mobile. I hope you have a lovely time in Derbyshire.

<<< it's such a comfort to me here, knowing I can temporarily blind and incapacitate a violent criminal in under three seconds from ten feet away. >>>

And how many times have you had to use it? How many times would you have had to rummage in your purse for several minutes to find it? How many times does a violent criminal approach you from the front with clear intent to do nasty things to you rather than hitting you on the head from behind or just snatching your purse and running?

Things like pepper spray give a false sense of security and INCREASE your chances of being assaulted as you take more risks.

I know this will probably start a big argument, but I have to agree with Alan completely. The same goes for carrying a handgun.

In a stressed situation, it is the very unusual person that has the control to accurately use a handgun or device for self defense. Most police cannot do it, and they are trained.

Many years ago, I taught my daughter some very basic, but very effective self defense actions. These include not only physical actions, but also psychological. They have worked for her on a couple of occasions, most recently in Paris.

I've often wondered what are the statistics of people using guns for protection. How many have harmed themselves or innocents versus how many crimes have been thwarted.

I think he inspects dangerous dogs for a living.>>>>

Oh it's not all glamour, glamour, glamour, you know....

A small part of what I do for a living is talk to people who have doused themselves in the face with pepper spray, or whose children have gotten the silly things out of mom's purse to play with. Somehow they seem surprised that the stuff is painful, as if it knows how to target only bad guys.

I wandered around knocking on doors in the most dangerous parts of my smaller and somewhat less bad Midwestern city for years in a previous job, armed only with an oblivious attitude, knowing that I'd be more likely to do some kind of boneheaded thing to myself than to anyone else.

If armed, that is, with anything but my invisibility cloak.

I won't take offense as my entry was intended to be tongue-in-cheek. No sensible person would claim to know how they'd react or the myriad ways an attack could occur or even the fact that the spray could be used against them. And we all know handguns kill many people by accident in the U.S. However, I don't agree that having a spray increases your chance of being assaulted due to a false sense of security and engaging in more risky behavior. But enough of this... this is just a travel forum, after all...

Now there's some helpful feedback, stokebailey. Where would I score one of those invisibility cloaks???

>> Where would I score one of those invisibility cloaks???<<

It tends magically to arrive of its own accord, somewhere around one's 60th birthday, in my experience....

We'll be making the Chatsworth area walk a few weeks after you do, ChgoGal, or I'd demonstrate in person. Unfortunately I'm not authorized to divulge invisibility details on the internet.

Good one, Patrick.

Hi again
One thing I meant to mention - a really nice aspect of your walking 'oop north' is that you will get a greeting from everyone you pass, be they other walkers or the locals/farmers that you might see. Everyone ALWAYS greets each other which is so nice, and one of the reasons why I love living in North Yorkshire so much (this isn't an exclusive Yorkshire thing but the people up here ARE extremely friendly). The standard Dales greeting is 'How do' (thought I would translate in advance!).

Hi Morgana! THanks for that posting! How nice! I'm so looking forward to my walks now. I'll be sure to say, "How do" first!