New Here Introduction

[jansman]

L.O.L. Right now,farmers are asking for enforcement of law against ‘wild’ camping. It appears they have some right numpties occupying their land at times, and who shouldn’t be there! People moving into such areas in a ( theoretical) situation, will find themselves in aggressive situations. I can tell you now,as a lifetime hunting man and fisherman, farmers ,landowners and pond/lake owners don’t take trespassers lightly - and that is in peaceful times!

This idea of ‘bugging out’ which has been around the prepping/ survival groups forever , in my opinion , is a load of rubbish. How am I qualified to say this? Well between the age of 19 and 21,I was a Royal Marine. I was a boy then,and pretty tough. But no way would I even think about living as a refugee on someone else’s land,’cos we were trained to understand that person will shoot AT you!

As I said, I doubt anyone could survive a long term bugout for long. I can't think of any scenarios where I would want to try. I do NOT subscribe to the idea of bugging out long term at the first sign of urban trouble.

As I said, I think the most likely scenarios are to a government evacuation point, or temporarily if my home was being looted. In the latter situation, there are loads of woods I can hide in for a couple of days nearby. The land is owned by the council. Officially it's open to the public until dusk. Literally. I guess they might lock the car park gate when it's getting dark. In fact, there are people wild camping near there now, have been for a year, trying to stop a chunk of the land being sold to developers.

The locations I have in mind for the extremely unlikely long term bugout, or longer distance because of some hazzard locally, go through farmland, by road. The destinations are places that are open to the public. I have three. All begin with the same route and then I either head west to one or east to the other two.

One is publicly owned, run by Forestry England, part of the Forestry Commission, open 12 hours a day 364 days a year. Presumably someone locks the car park gate at the end of the day.
Another is owned by United Utilities. Again, completely open to the public. You can walk there, mountain bike, whatever.
The third is owned by Peak District National Park Authority, United Utilities and Forestry England. Completely open to the public.
All three have woods, rivers and lakes.

Regarding wild camping, I've done loads. I walked to Scotland when I was 15, carrying tent etc. I've wild camped lots in the Lake District. I did 3 weeks in the Dolomites. I've wild camped to go rock climbing. Some people even stealth camp near roads or villages. I've also turned up at camp sites in the dark, pitched my tent, and let them know in the morning. Of course camp sites might be a sensible place to try to get to.

My sister and her husband own a woodland ,and boy ,do they have some ‘types’ on their private land! And those ‘types’ think they are legal! As good luck has it,her husband is a big lad Our fishing club has issues where non - members come in from time to time too. That’s a big mistake also! Anglers don’t do political correctness. More than one intruder has been caught and thrown in the water. Fact.

When we had COVID 19 ,government requested,indeed expected ,staying at home. Before that was the emergency booklet Go in,tune in,stay in. https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/plan ... rgency,and well before that,Protect and Survive in 1980 ,expected home dwelling.

In short; leave your home ,you are a refugee.

[Kiwififer]

We all play the SHTF game, if I can’t get down to my folks down under, I reckon I would crack open my collectible whisky and not worry about it.

I have gained a lot of information on here for more U.K. stuff, what do we do if the lights go out stuff and how to get through the next 72 hours etc.

Anyhoo, hello from Edinburgh.

[jennyjj01]

For the OP...

30 Bug in or out scenarios

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=P4t8DihXOi4

[Frnc]

By the way. All this talk about bugging in and not bugging out. If you are bugged in for any length of time, you are going to have to go out looking for provisions or to dispose of stuff. This won't be like normal trips to the shops. You could get attacked or injured.
People do mention GHBs from time to time. Scavenging trips or simply getting home are all forms of bugging out. Especially getting home from a long distance away, if you have to walk.

Back to bugging out. US governent advice:

https://www.ready.gov/evacuation

Plan to Evacuate

Many kinds of emergencies can cause you to have to evacuate. In some cases, you may have a day or two to prepare while other situations might call for an immediate evacuation. Planning is vital to making sure that you can evacuate quickly and safely no matter what the circumstances.
Before an Evacuation

Learn the types of disasters that are likely in your community and the local emergency, evacuation and shelter plans for each specific disaster.
Plan how you will leave and where you will go if you are advised to evacuate.
Check with local officials about what shelter spaces are available for this year.
Identify several places you could go in an emergency such as a friend’s home in another town or a motel. Choose destinations in different directions so that you have options during an emergency.
If needed, identify a place to stay that will accept pets. Most public shelters allow only service animals.
Be familiar with alternate routes and other means of transportation out of your area.
Always follow the instructions of local officials and remember that your evacuation route may be on foot depending on the type of disaster.
Come up with a family/household plan to stay in touch in case you become separated; have a meeting place and update it depending on the circumstance.
Assemble supplies that are ready for evacuation. Prepare a “go-bag” you can carry when you evacuate on foot or public transportation and supplies for traveling longer distances if you have a car.
If you have a car:
Keep a full tank of gas if an evacuation seems likely. Keep a half tank of gas in it at all times in case of an unexpected need to evacuate. Gas stations may be closed during emergencies and unable to pump gas during power outages. Plan to take one car per family to reduce congestion and delay.
Make sure you have a portable emergency kit in the car.
If you do not have a car, plan how you will leave if needed. Decide with family, friends or your local emergency management office to see what resources may be available.

During an Evacuation

Download the FEMA app for a list of open shelters during an active disaster in your local area.
Listen to a battery-powered radio and follow local evacuation instructions.
Take your emergency supply kit.
Leave early enough to avoid being trapped by severe weather.
Take your pets with you but understand that only service animals may be allowed in public shelters. Plan how you will care for your pets in an emergency now.
If time allows:
Call or email the out-of-state contact in your family communications plan. Tell them where you are going.
Secure your home by closing and locking doors and windows.
Unplug electrical equipment such as radios, televisions and small appliances. Leave freezers and refrigerators plugged in unless there is a risk of flooding. If there is damage to your home and you are instructed to do so, shut off water, gas and electricity before leaving.
Leave a note telling others when you left and where you are going.
Wear sturdy shoes and clothing that provides some protection such as long pants, long-sleeved shirts and a hat.
Check with neighbors who may need a ride.
Follow recommended evacuation routes. Do not take shortcuts, they may be blocked.
Be alert for road hazards such as washed-out roads or bridges and downed power lines. Do not drive into flooded areas.

After an Evacuation

If you evacuated for the storm, check with local officials both where you’re staying and back home before you travel.

If you are returning to disaster-affected areas, after significant events prepare for disruptions to daily activities and remember that returning home before storm debris is cleared is dangerous.
Let friends and family know before you leave and when you arrive.
Charge devices and consider getting back-up batteries in case power-outages continue.
Fill up your gas tank and consider downloading a fuel app to check for outages along your route.
Bring supplies such as water and non-perishable food for the car ride.
Avoid downed power or utility lines, they may be live with deadly voltage. Stay away and report them immediately to your power or utility company.
Only use generators outside and away from your home and NEVER run a generator inside a home or garage or connect it to your home's electrical system.

[jansman]

By the way. All this talk about bugging in and not bugging out. If you are bugged in for any length of time, you are going to have to go out looking for provisions or to dispose of stuff. This won't be like normal trips to the shops. You could get attacked or injured.
People do mention GHBs from time to time. Scavenging trips or simply getting home are all forms of bugging out. Especially getting home from a long distance away, if you have to walk.

Back to bugging out. US governent advice:

https://www.ready.gov/evacuation

Plan to Evacuate

Many kinds of emergencies can cause you to have to evacuate. In some cases, you may have a day or two to prepare while other situations might call for an immediate evacuation. Planning is vital to making sure that you can evacuate quickly and safely no matter what the circumstances.
Before an Evacuation

Learn the types of disasters that are likely in your community and the local emergency, evacuation and shelter plans for each specific disaster.
Plan how you will leave and where you will go if you are advised to evacuate.
Check with local officials about what shelter spaces are available for this year.
Identify several places you could go in an emergency such as a friend’s home in another town or a motel. Choose destinations in different directions so that you have options during an emergency.
If needed, identify a place to stay that will accept pets. Most public shelters allow only service animals.
Be familiar with alternate routes and other means of transportation out of your area.
Always follow the instructions of local officials and remember that your evacuation route may be on foot depending on the type of disaster.
Come up with a family/household plan to stay in touch in case you become separated; have a meeting place and update it depending on the circumstance.
Assemble supplies that are ready for evacuation. Prepare a “go-bag” you can carry when you evacuate on foot or public transportation and supplies for traveling longer distances if you have a car.
If you have a car:
Keep a full tank of gas if an evacuation seems likely. Keep a half tank of gas in it at all times in case of an unexpected need to evacuate. Gas stations may be closed during emergencies and unable to pump gas during power outages. Plan to take one car per family to reduce congestion and delay.
Make sure you have a portable emergency kit in the car.
If you do not have a car, plan how you will leave if needed. Decide with family, friends or your local emergency management office to see what resources may be available.

During an Evacuation

Download the FEMA app for a list of open shelters during an active disaster in your local area.
Listen to a battery-powered radio and follow local evacuation instructions.
Take your emergency supply kit.
Leave early enough to avoid being trapped by severe weather.
Take your pets with you but understand that only service animals may be allowed in public shelters. Plan how you will care for your pets in an emergency now.
If time allows:
Call or email the out-of-state contact in your family communications plan. Tell them where you are going.
Secure your home by closing and locking doors and windows.
Unplug electrical equipment such as radios, televisions and small appliances. Leave freezers and refrigerators plugged in unless there is a risk of flooding. If there is damage to your home and you are instructed to do so, shut off water, gas and electricity before leaving.
Leave a note telling others when you left and where you are going.
Wear sturdy shoes and clothing that provides some protection such as long pants, long-sleeved shirts and a hat.
Check with neighbors who may need a ride.
Follow recommended evacuation routes. Do not take shortcuts, they may be blocked.
Be alert for road hazards such as washed-out roads or bridges and downed power lines. Do not drive into flooded areas.

After an Evacuation

If you evacuated for the storm, check with local officials both where you’re staying and back home before you travel.

If you are returning to disaster-affected areas, after significant events prepare for disruptions to daily activities and remember that returning home before storm debris is cleared is dangerous.
Let friends and family know before you leave and when you arrive.
Charge devices and consider getting back-up batteries in case power-outages continue.
Fill up your gas tank and consider downloading a fuel app to check for outages along your route.
Bring supplies such as water and non-perishable food for the car ride.
Avoid downed power or utility lines, they may be live with deadly voltage. Stay away and report them immediately to your power or utility company.
Only use generators outside and away from your home and NEVER run a generator inside a home or garage or connect it to your home's electrical system.

Don’t need to acquire provisions at home. Got storage like you can’t believe. And a shotgun!

[GillyBee]

Another useful resource, if getting a little elderly, is the "Listening to Katrina" preparedness site which focusses on hurricane evacuation and lessons learnt by a prepper bugging out from Katrina with his family.
https://www.theplacewithnoname.com/blogs/klessons/

[jansman]

The ‘original’ idea of ‘Bugging Out’ in AMERICA back in the late 60’s 70’s was to leave home and take three days or so ( when petrol or gasoline was cheap) and go to another SPECIFIED place. Back then the yanks had some bonkers ideas that the Russians or Martians may invade,so three days away was where to ‘be’ .That seemed to drift over here as a so- called survival plan. Here in the UK we do not have a real evacuation plan .In the UK, events like a gas leak,flood etc. will be handled by a local council. That means temporary accommodation,food,assistance etc. until homes are cleared,mended and the like in order that the occupants can return. Indeed our Isle actually HAS Bug Out people entering it. We call them refugees. However,we don’t give them rucksacks full of ‘toys’ and tell them to go and live under a tarpaulin in the nearest woodland! No,we are finding hotels/ housing etc.

The information kindly left in previous posts,is American. They have a bigger country for one thing. However,in Hurricane Katrina,many of the evacuees became refugees and ended up having to make their lives work elsewhere- some even in other countries!

Our plan here is that if anything happens to our house,we have somewhere else to go. Initially a hotel - dog friendly- with a ‘kit’ that is relevant to stay there for a day or two. Spring through to Autumn however,we have a large Summerhouse with very good ‘living ‘ facilities at the other side of our property. In the Winter,both our daughters have large houses we can live in. A plan. It won’t be a case of potential hypothermia in a hammock whilst trespassing someone else’s property!

[Frnc]

The ‘original’ idea of ‘Bugging Out’ in AMERICA back in the late 60’s 70’s was to leave home and take three days or so ( when petrol or gasoline was cheap) and go to another SPECIFIED place. Back then the yanks had some bonkers ideas that the Russians or Martians may invade,so three days away was where to ‘be’ .That seemed to drift over here as a so- called survival plan. Here in the UK we do not have a real evacuation plan .In the UK, events like a gas leak,flood etc. will be handled by a local council. That means temporary accommodation,food,assistance etc. until homes are cleared,mended and the like in order that the occupants can return. Indeed our Isle actually HAS Bug Out people entering it. We call them refugees. However,we don’t give them rucksacks full of ‘toys’ and tell them to go and live under a tarpaulin in the nearest woodland! No,we are finding hotels/ housing etc.

The information kindly left in previous posts,is American. They have a bigger country for one thing. However,in Hurricane Katrina,many of the evacuees became refugees and ended up having to make their lives work elsewhere- some even in other countries!

Our plan here is that if anything happens to our house,we have somewhere else to go. Initially a hotel - dog friendly- with a ‘kit’ that is relevant to stay there for a day or two. Spring through to Autumn however,we have a large Summerhouse with very good ‘living ‘ facilities at the other side of our property. In the Winter,both our daughters have large houses we can live in. A plan. It won’t be a case of potential hypothermia in a hammock whilst trespassing someone else’s property!

But as I said, none of my locations are someone else's property, apart from one or two bits which are owned by United Utilities, and the public can go anywhere they want on that land. People hike all over it. The other areas are all publicly owned, as I said.

I don't have daughters with large houses. I don't have anyone within 200 miles. The council might not be providing accomodation.

UK government advice is similar:

"think about where you would go and stay – and how you would get there – if an emergency meant that you couldn’t stay at home"

"put together a ‘grab bag’ of things to take in an emergency"

The grab bag links to Cheshire Resiliance which says

"Emergency Grab Bag

An emergency could happen at any time. An Emergency Grab Bag is a useful kit packed with essentials in case you have to evacuate.

It will need to be easily found by all family members, and should be checked every six months. A backpack or a small suitcase with wheels will be suitable, and could include the following items:

Copy of your Household Emergency Life-Saving Plan (HELP)
First aid kit and medication
Copies of important family documents in a waterproof bag
Prescription medication
Cash and Credit Cards
Car Keys
Toiletries and sanitary supplies
Mobile phone and charger
Infant supplies
Spare clothes
A battery torch with spare batteries or a wind up torch
A battery radio with spare batteries or wind up radio
Bottled water and emergency food, enough for three days
Childcare supplies or other special care items
Extra set of house and car keys

Emergency Car Grab Bag

You should also consider keeping a special grab bag in your car, which could be extremely useful during periods of extreme weather.

It might include the following:

Suitable winter clothes and a blanket or a sleeping bag
Mobile phone, torch, radio and extra batteries
Shovel and windscreen scraper
Tow chain and rope
Jump leads
Non-perishable food and water

If you are asked to leave your home by the emergency services, take your complete Household Emergency Life-Saving Plan plus your Emergency Grab Bag and leave as quickly as possible."

I also don't have a car. So I would rely on public transport, if it was working. If not I'd rely on my bike or walking.

If there were hotels I'd stay there. In 2021-2 they were all closed due to Covid. So I prepare for the possibility, however small, that I might have to evacuate some distance, on foot or bike, with nowhere to stay. I have everything. Winter mountaineering equipment: thermal base layer, thick wool hiking socks, mid layers, outers, waterproofs, boots, hat, Primaloft Gold mountaineering gloves that pack tiny, waterproof over-mitts that pack tiny, 5 season sleeping mat, ultralight air bed, sleeping bad, quilt, tent, stove, fuel, food. I can carry all this easily on my bike or on foot. I very much doubt I'll ever need it. But I have it. If my knees and back weren't so bad I'd go camping by bike. I did camp for a week a couple of years ago. But I did loads when I was young.