Survival UK Forums

I just wondered that if the opportunity arose and the budget allowed where would you good folks choose to move to in the UK, what do you consider the ideal place for your prepper family home ??

There is a house about a mile from where I am now sitting that would be very nice indeed, only accessed by water

Couldn't do my ideal home because of planning laws :-(

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Wasn't this thread done a few weeks ago?

(29 June 2013, 22:07)NorthernRaider Wrote: [ -> ]I just wondered that if the opportunity arose and the budget allowed where would you good folks choose to move to in the UK, what do you consider the ideal place for your prepper family home ??

Many moons ago my family, who had spent many wonderful holidays in the South West ask a friend of ours what this area had to offer from a retreat/survival point of view.
He sent us the following.
I do not necessarily agree with all he says but it did help us when we decided to moved this way 10 or so years ago.

DEVON
(A SURVIVALISTS PERSPECTIVE )
Devon usually conjures up images of quaint seaside towns & picture postcard villages and this image has helped to establish the county as one of the most popular holiday destinations in the United Kingdom.
The purpose of this article is to establish the area credentials as a survivalists retreat or permanent location.
While the county is a popular holiday destination, most of the visitors tend to be concentrated in certain areas; away from these “holiday hotspots” there are some very suitable properties, in equally suitable terrain.
The following sections detail reasons for the areas suitability:
CLIMATE
The West country ‘s climate is well known for being mild, our winters are not particularly cold and the growing season starts early (the first daffodils & strawberries, produced in the UK, that go on sale, are grown here).
Palm trees growing in gardens is a common sight and with the advent of global warming the marine life is beginning to change, with some Mediterranean species now being encountered off our coastline.
The weather can be very wet at times, the winter is now bringing flooding to some of our rivers quite regularly and this must be remembered when choosing a location. On a positive note, this also keeps our reservoirs full.
GROUND
European policies have caused a great deal of hardship for the West Country’s farming communities, but still they fight on. The soil that they work is very fertile and produces good volumes of crops and will support good livestock.
We do not have the “industrial farming” landscape, instead we have small farms with small field systems, and lots of them. This means we also have a high concentration of expertise in the more traditional methods of land management.
The proportion of useable agricultural land is fairly high, town sizes are not large in comparison with many other counties and the high moorland areas are not that big, so this leaves a good amount of workable farmland.
POPULATION
Density of population is not that high and compares well with the many areas in the north of the country, but does not have the large amounts of inhospitable mountain/moorland, where the population are concentrated in the lowlands and has a limited amount of useable farmland.
PROPERTY
Devon has very few “newtowns”, the cites and larger towns are expanding, but not massively.
Move away from the larger towns and you will find a lot of small towns, villages and hamlets, tucked away in the network of tiny lanes. Most of these are small, self-reliant communities.
The actual properties are old and have “cobb” built walls. This is a traditional local method of constructing walls, using local stone, clay and straw, often resulting in walls three or four feet thick! This method of building definitely stands the test of time, as four & five hundred-year-old cottages are common place.
Most of these houses are built around a couple of fireplaces, some have wood burning stoves and /or “rayburn” type heating systems.
As most of the villages are old, wells or springs can be found in most of them, which is useful if the mains system fails.
The villages also seem to have a strong community spirit and newcomers seem to fit in quite quickly.
The inhabitants seem to have a wide range of skills, I think in a time of need most would cope well as the trades and experience seems quite broad.
Another advantage of these small communities is Security; outsiders “stand out”.
ROADS
The county has more miles of roads than any other does in Britain, but few of these are major roads. The major roads link the major towns and are the most used. If you choose your location carefully, it is quite easy to find towns and villages that few people “pass through” on their way to somewhere else.
The massive network of lanes means that even if all the major routes are at a “standstill”, in a crisis, you could still move about relatively easily by vehicle.
CRIME
Recent government statistics show we have the lowest incidence of crime in the country. Like everywhere, it is increasing, but slowly.
GEOGRAPHICAL BOUNDARIES
Any major “invasion” will come from only one direction – EAST. We are bounded to the North & South by the sea and to the West by Cornwall.
Every year in Devon we rehearse the scenario of a large number of displaced persons flooding into the county, clogging all major roads and putting a massive strain on the counties resources, its called
“THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS”.
All joking aside, the county is used to these changes in population, but in reality I think many would only make it as far as Dorset or Somerset before their fuel runs out and petrol stations will have no fuel to sell, so many will settle there. Those who do make it into Devon will head for the places they know, the “holiday hotspots” and these will probably be Exmoor and the southern coast. Areas away from these and not on a road “to anywhere” are relatively unknown and should not face invasion by the desperate and unprepared.
TSHTF
So “what if”. Well if all goes pear shaped on a national scale, this part of the country seems fairly self-sufficient. The cities and large towns may well have problems with civil unrest, but I think many will find security in staying put at first before moving out into the surrounding countryside. Some of the more informed may well “head for the hills”, and possibly become victims of their climate and baroness.
I’m sure the Government has contingency plans for large-scale civil unrest and no doubt the military will play a major part in controlling the population if events dictate.
This is an important consideration, as the Government will want people to “stay put” and not congest the road networks.
The West Country has a large military presence, which will help in the control of large movements of refugees; those who remain in their communities will pose no threat.
CONCLUSIONS
My personal opinion is that this part of the country has a lot going for it and if you choose your location carefully you could well ride out most storms in relative comfort.
The quality of life is pretty good too.
Devon is definitely worth looking at as a long- term survival location.

my choice would be Isle of Lundy or even better the Scilly Isles as the weather is more Carribean like



Alterego

(30 June 2013, 08:24)Alterego Wrote: [ -> ]my choice would be Isle of Lundy or even better the Scilly Isles as the weather is more Carribean like



Alterego

Although I agree that both Lundy and Isle of Scilly are nice I would personally rule them out.

If you are going to move, and have 'survivalist' consideration you should as far as you can consider all threats. Among these I would place both Lundy and Scilly as possible for tsunami.

have already found my ideal property not too far from here, all I need now is the money to buy it!

(30 June 2013, 09:06)John Wrote: [ -> ]Although I agree that both Lundy and Isle of Scilly are nice I would personally rule them out.

If you are going to move, and have 'survivalist' consideration you should as far as you can consider all threats. Among these I would place both Lundy and Scilly as possible for tsunami.

That could equally be applied to Devon and the West Country, in the late 1700s a Tsunami devasted parts of that region, Equally huge swaiths of much needed farming land in Somerset and Wiltshire would disappear with power to run the pumps. I dont think ( not 100% sure) that the West Country even has any coal which will be much needed after the event. It has little of its own power generation capacity.If you avoid all threat that would bump Devon right down the list it has no where near enough water, little minerals, and is the first choice of location for the sheeple from London to Birmingham to aim for.

We could easily find fault with every part of the UK if we tried hard enough, but we are wise enough to be able to have sensible expectations and be able to manage the short comings. But what I'm looking for is peoples chosen preffered places they would like to ride out armageddon at.

(30 June 2013, 09:22)NorthernRaider Wrote: [ -> ]I dont think ( not 100% sure) that the West Country even has any coal which will be much needed after the event. It has little of its own power generation capacity.If you avoid all threat that would bump Devon right down the list it has no where near enough water, little minerals, and is the first choice of location for the sheeple from London to Birmingham to aim for.

that's because someone who is NOT from Devon would NOT know which part to head for and all those from Londonistan and Birmingham would head for where they spend their holidays which is mostly coastal where they had access to all the amusements and holiday parks. and as for not enough water in Devon THATS A HOOT we've got plenty of water!

(30 June 2013, 09:22)NorthernRaider Wrote: [ -> ]

(30 June 2013, 09:06)John Wrote: [ -> ]Although I agree that both Lundy and Isle of Scilly are nice I would personally rule them out.

If you are going to move, and have 'survivalist' consideration you should as far as you can consider all threats. Among these I would place both Lundy and Scilly as possible for tsunami.

That could equally be applied to Devon and the West Country, in the late 1700s a Tsunami devasted parts of that region, Equally huge swaiths of much needed farming land in Somerset and Wiltshire would disappear with power to run the pumps. I dont think ( not 100% sure) that the West Country even has any coal which will be much needed after the event. It has little of its own power generation capacity.If you avoid all threat that would bump Devon right down the list it has no where near enough water, little minerals, and is the first choice of location for the sheeple from London to Birmingham to aim for.

We could easily find fault with every part of the UK if we tried hard enough, but we are wise enough to be able to have sensible expectations and be able to manage the short comings. But what I'm looking for is peoples chosen preffered places they would like to ride out armageddon at.

Agreed, you is where you feel best and I is where I feel best but nowhere is perfect.
My preferred place is where I am now which surprise surprise is Devon.
May find below link of interest relating to UK flooding.

http://flood.firetree.net/