I have walked 3 times in October-November. At 68, I am no longer "middle aged"! I consider late fall to be an excellent time to walk, and I recommend it without any reservations about safety, solitude or weather.
If you type "October" into the Search box at the top right of your screen, you will find lots of information! To read about the many people who are planning to walk in Sept-Oct 2016, look at
this thread. Here is some discussion of
November.
Be sure to read about the experiences of
@mspath , who responded to your post on
the other thread.
This webpage has statistics on pilgrims arriving at the Office in Santiago. If you look at the arrivals in November 2015 (assuming that those people started walking in October), you'll see that 5229 pilgrims arrived in Santiago, of whom 40% were women and 14% were over 60 years old. I was one of them
.
You need to be prepared for any weather from hot and sunny to cold, wet and even snowy. That means several thin layers, gloves, good rain gear, and a sleeping bag if you are planning to stay in albergues. To be safe from any unusually wintery weather, be sure to heed advice of the hospitaleros, and don't walk in bad conditions. I never encountered any dangerous weather, but I did encounter a bit of snow in late November.
There will be plenty of other pilgrims on the way. However, since I tended to leave a bit later than most people, I was often alone on the path towards the end of November. If you don't like that, just be sure to leave at first light with everyone else. If you want to be sure to meet up with people, stay in the popular albergues. Starting in mid-October, some albergues close for the winter, particularly in the smallest villages. You should be aware of this possibility as you plan your route each day. Orisson, 8 km from SJPP, usually closes in mid-October.
Safety for women walking alone? It is at least as safe as most of the things we normally do. I walk with exactly the same cautions in Spain as I do in a park in my home town, even though crime is probably lower in Spain. The camino is not magically immune from the bad stuff that happens everywhere, but relatively speaking it is very safe!
So, carry on planning!