Run to the hills?

[janso]

Definitely 'bug in'!! Running to the hills..... until when?

Good topic, but hard to answer I think. Would it not depend on what scenario or disaster has occurred?
Bad weather, e.g., snowed in or flooded would initiate a different response compared to a pandemic, a natural disaster or indeed a spate of invading giant crabs inching up the beaches!!

I also agree that there should be a plan A, B, C, D and an awareness that being flexible AND adaptable is key to moving forward after a situation but other than bugging in, realistically bugging out or moving any huge distance to an 'unpopulated' area houses too many risks both by travel and sustainability at the other end.

Bugging out is an option I still want to have as a back up, but for me, bugging out with a family from a rural-ish location doesnt seem viable... where would I go that could provide a better location? If I had a guaranteed place at a all-year round, sustainable location then plan B would be more concrete. Any ideas by forum users?

Maybe this is where the idea of forming a network comes into its own.... safe locations we can bug out to, have a cuppa, and then as group form a plan that offers mutual support and safety

[janso]

Very true CC ! You couldnt survive outdoors here in winter. Nobody could.

As a passing thought Lil..... with the weather that Scotland gets, would it viable for year round crops up there? Scotland would be my first option as a BOL (even in safe times!), but lets say, I did have a safe, secure location and the ground was reasonable, what crops would grow? I think food and water are the main reasons for whatever location we choose like migrating animals staying relative to these resources.

[diamond lil]

Well the clans managed. Been people living here since pre -Roman times If they managed then, we could manage now. Plenty good water, barley and oats grow well; kale, turnip, tatties, onions & cabbage etc. Berries grow wild all over the place, and there's always the fishing.

[hobo]

Well the clans managed. Been people living here since pre -Roman times If they managed then, we could manage now. Plenty good water, barley and oats grow well; kale, turnip, tatties, onions & cabbage etc. Berries grow wild all over the place, and there's always the fishing.

Kale! Woohoo!!

[seboss]

Some good points there, i should make it clear that by "running to the hills" i simply meant buging out, using the iron maiden song as a title reference lol

Janso i think you pretty much summed it up with the plan A, B, C etc with regards to different situations.

I think i was thinking more in terms of a really large scale shtf example. With regards to food etc however, theres alot out there to go at, at least that is to say more than i thought, i recently got a copy of lofty wisemans sas survival guide, it does make some pretty good reading and theres tonnes of useful information in it, me and the girlfriend are going camping soon to brush up on some bushcraft lol.

Just a quick heads up on the water front as well, i know its not related to the thread but i'll throw it in here anyway. You guys may want to check out the "web tex surviva pure canteen". They are a banging peice of kit just to carry anywhere with you really, i wont bore you with the details, just google it if youre interested.

[Technik]

I would say - if you're in a city / big town - bug out, if in a rural location / small village - bug in.

Re the web tex canteen - nothing beats Lifesystems filter bottles

[janso]

What about looking at a map, picking an area suitable for you as a BOL- not toofar- not too near and actually EXPLORE that area to see if has a BOL you can use, chances are if you do not know what is there, and you find a suitable building,old quarry, caves or whatever, nobody else will know its there either!!!

Looking through previous posts, this seems to still be quite a good way of scouting out an immediate BOL possibly within your local area.

Lil, I never even thought about that , would the highlands still support the same kind of crops or would mother nature need to purge it of human interaction first? I think thats what I was originally thinking too much about!!

The weather in Scotland is definitely not for everyone but it does represent the mindset of how preppers will need to be - adaptable and hardy folk.

[diamond lil]

Kale! Woohoo!!
*********
SADIST !
Janso, this is one of the things that there's a difference of opinion about. Some say the land is ruined and won't grow anything - others say its only neglected and once cleared will be fine.But the good thing is that there's loads of it. I think myself it would be hellish hard work but once cleared would make a bare living, tought yes but a thousand times better than a city..

[Red Doe]

Like Lil, I can confirm that for centuries the Celts managed fine in this area (politics and economics cleared the Highlands more than anything else of people) and don`t see why it isn`t manageable today. From hard experience I can say the pros and cons, such as there are more crop predators today that in the past our ancestors would have just killed...now with the `eco` lot in charge of a great deal of the Highlands, we aren`t allowed to keep down the wild deer, fox, badger populations down to manageable levels where they don`t affect our gardens and crops.
Also folks would have to leave behind vegetarian diets and become omnivores again, since the `crop` these places support best is meat! Cattle, sheep and pigs all thrive on Highland land. Coupled with the old fashioned runrig system, a family keeping some cows, sheep and a couple of pigs, growing hardy veg and foraging the surrounding landscape and shoreline, plus preserving the food overwinter (this is where old skills come to bear) would survive pretty well.
The weather is really little better or worse than it was in, say, the Iron Age, though perhaps a few degrees cooler overall. You adapt to it. It is, though, when ill health or age strikes that the consequences of not respecting Scottish weather hits home.
The Highlands of today is almost entirely man-made. At one point in history Scotland was covered by the Caledonian forest, of which only remnants remain. Deforestation, plus overworking of the land when the Highlands was thickly populated, has left what you see now. But the soil, thin on the bones of Alba as it is, is still rich and capable of growing many foods, with care and attention.

[janso]

Thanks RD, very interesting read. so Scotland in essence to those willing to adapt to its environment whatever the weather, is pretty much the better area of the UK to at for a permanent BOL, or indeed a small sustainable community?