Bournes

[NorthernRaider]

Bournes, a previously unknown hazard.
We all have (I hope) planned bug out/ evac / escape / transit routes as part of our preps, be they for bugging out along or simply as a post event access road to your home / retreat or place of safety.
But the recent floods in southern Britain have highlighted a possible hazard we may have not considered in our plans. It transpires that in many parts of the UK the geology has a hidden trick up its sleeve.
In periods of heavy and prolonged rainfall of the type we are being hit with during the winter and spring of 2014 is causing “Bournes” to suddenly occur.

A “Bourne” is a river that is predominantly found around chalk or limestone geology (that’s most of Southern England), they only appear when the ground water level is high. You can suddenly find with very little notice that anything from a little stream / beck / brook to a fully-fledged river can suddenly start flowing where no water has been seen flowing for over a 100 years.

Often they can be nothing more than an inconvenience blocking your right of way, but in some cases people can find the Bourne suddenly flowing straight through their house or garden causing chaos and damage.
It may be prudent and wise to bury your head in your areas collection of historical maps and to check with your local environmental officer to see if there is evidence of “ Bournes” in your area.

As I said above you may be safe, you may only be inconvenienced, but equally if the SHTF because of climate change and vicious storms the last thing you want to find is your house with a river running through it.

I made a quick call to my own property solicitor and they told me as far as they are aware land searches during property sales do not normally look for Bournes. So its down to us to check.
NR