Locations for bugging out to....

[Devonian]

I have family in heartland and bude and Biddeford and friends in illfracombe I used to live in Biddeford myself

Really!!

You clearly know the area so well

[Sirmattyb]

I have family in heartland and bude and Biddeford and friends in illfracombe I used to live in Biddeford myself

Really!!

You clearly know the area so well

Devonian what's your problem?

[Briggs]

My work now has me on the M4/M5 two or three times a week near to Reading and I often spend time thinking how I would get home to Devon should things turn pear-shaped quickly. I haven't got the answer, I just know it would be a mammoth challenge in a SHTF scenario. It's mind-numbing thinking about it.

I absolutely agree - thats the only sort of "bugging" of any description that I'm going to do, other than the usual short term emergency, and getting to my sister in a security situation.

As to *how* you'd do it - I plot motorways (if any, on my routes), major roads, lanes and tracks, and footpaths. Its bleeding complicated though I've just had the brilliant idea of photographing maps onto my phone - even individual junctions!

Photos on the phone is a good idea, but only for 24hours on a modern smartphone before the battery is dead. I now carry a back up battery for my iphone - that gives me another 18 hours max which is still not enough to consider enough power for a 100+ mile walk home. I'm not picking holes in your plan, I'm just sharing some paranoia. I've switched to carrying a UHF/VHF portable and keeping an HF portable in the car. Sometimes I think I think about this too much but it's born from experience. I recently had to start walking home from Swindon after a midnight car failure near Junction 15 and it's enlightening how difficult it is even in a non-SHTF scenario. It's all about getting home, yeah?

[Arzosah]

Photos on the phone is a good idea, but only for 24hours on a modern smartphone before the battery is dead. I now carry a back up battery for my iphone - that gives me another 18 hours max which is still not enough to consider enough power for a 100+ mile walk home.

Thats a good idea!

I'm not picking holes in your plan, I'm just sharing some paranoia.

Not a problem! The solution I described was only referring to my local towns, a max of 15 miles away. Further away than that, as your situation is very often, hmmm. I'd do things differently - maybe print out a few general maps to get me going in the right direction, at least?

I've switched to carrying a UHF/VHF portable and keeping an HF portable in the car. Sometimes I think I think about this too much but it's born from experience. I recently had to start walking home from Swindon after a midnight car failure near Junction 15 and it's enlightening how difficult it is even in a non-SHTF scenario. It's all about getting home, yeah?

It really is! You've made me start thinking about my journey to see my mum, about 300 miles by train - what would I do? I haven't worked that through.

Horrendous that you had to walk home after a car breakdown at midnight! As you say, enlightening I definitely need to do more work on this. Thanks!

[Briggs]

Photos on the phone is a good idea, but only for 24hours on a modern smartphone before the battery is dead. I now carry a back up battery for my iphone - that gives me another 18 hours max which is still not enough to consider enough power for a 100+ mile walk home.

Thats a good idea!

I'm not picking holes in your plan, I'm just sharing some paranoia.

Not a problem! The solution I described was only referring to my local towns, a max of 15 miles away. Further away than that, as your situation is very often, hmmm. I'd do things differently - maybe print out a few general maps to get me going in the right direction, at least?

I've switched to carrying a UHF/VHF portable and keeping an HF portable in the car. Sometimes I think I think about this too much but it's born from experience. I recently had to start walking home from Swindon after a midnight car failure near Junction 15 and it's enlightening how difficult it is even in a non-SHTF scenario. It's all about getting home, yeah?

It really is! You've made me start thinking about my journey to see my mum, about 300 miles by train - what would I do? I haven't worked that through.

Horrendous that you had to walk home after a car breakdown at midnight! As you say, enlightening I definitely need to do more work on this. Thanks!

I was in Go Outdoors last week stocking up on their £6 Regatta micro fleece tops* and I noticed they had a Garmin GPSMap 62s complete with UK wide 1:50 OS maps for a discounted price of £250.00. Bear in mind I was in there for cheap £6 fleece tops, the idea of spending £250 is not something I take lightly but I must admit, if I had the £250 spare, I'd consider that for my GHB. In fact, as we've ditched Sky and terrestrial TV, I've got 2 x TV's to get rid off so perhaps once they are sold I may reinvest the money into that GPS.

Briggs.

*Those tops are cheap and have next to zero wind protection or thermal properties when worn as an outer, but as a mid layer shirt under another fleece they are well worth the £6.99.

[lonewolf]

My work now has me on the M4/M5 two or three times a week near to Reading and I often spend time thinking how I would get home to Devon should things turn pear-shaped quickly. I haven't got the answer, I just know it would be a mammoth challenge in a SHTF scenario. It's mind-numbing thinking about it.

stay off motorways when the SHTF, M roads are known by the military as "killing zones" for obvious reasons! if you can get out before the masses okay, but if your running with the masses you'll get caught in tail backs, traffic jambs, held up by accidents and broken down vehicles, once your on a motorway your stuck on it with no way off.

[poppypiesdad]

Being really pedantic, slip roads ?

J

[lonewolf]

Being really pedantic, slip roads ?

J

only if your near one! otherwise you could be stuck in traffic (between junctions) going nowhere .....

[featherstick]

My work now has me on the M4/M5 two or three times a week near to Reading and I often spend time thinking how I would get home to Devon should things turn pear-shaped quickly. I haven't got the answer, I just know it would be a mammoth challenge in a SHTF scenario. It's mind-numbing thinking about it.

stay off motorways when the SHTF, M roads are known by the military as "killing zones" for obvious reasons! if you can get out before the masses okay, but if your running with the masses you'll get caught in tail backs, traffic jambs, held up by accidents and broken down vehicles, once your on a motorway your stuck on it with no way off.

If there is any sort of curfew or public order control requirement, motorways will be blocked by the military/police. You need to know the A-roads and B-roads back home too.

[Briggs]

My work now has me on the M4/M5 two or three times a week near to Reading and I often spend time thinking how I would get home to Devon should things turn pear-shaped quickly. I haven't got the answer, I just know it would be a mammoth challenge in a SHTF scenario. It's mind-numbing thinking about it.

stay off motorways when the SHTF, M roads are known by the military as "killing zones" for obvious reasons! if you can get out before the masses okay, but if your running with the masses you'll get caught in tail backs, traffic jambs, held up by accidents and broken down vehicles, once your on a motorway your stuck on it with no way off.

If there is any sort of curfew or public order control requirement, motorways will be blocked by the military/police. You need to know the A-roads and B-roads back home too.

I have done Swindon to Devon on foot after deciding to ditch a worthless car that had broken down so I'm pretty clued up on the non-motorway, most direct route home. It's how to do it in a SHTF scenario when every minor road junction is a bottleneck and hazard. Figuring that out is the tricky part.