Dear Jim:
Glad you are open to suggestions from those of us East of the Mississippi. For those who are unfamiliar, a great starting point of identifying the places to be and not to be in your state is the work of Bruce Beach and, as recently noted of SurvivalBlog, be sure to see some more recent maps by the folks at SurvivalRing and then consider wind patterns in your area, and the jet stream. Just remember to consider: major military targets, state or federal government centers, nuclear power plants, large power plants and electric generating dams, or any key parts of the electrical grid, and large population and industrial centers. After considering targets for nuclear attack or terrorism, you must then identify the natural threats to that local area – floods from rivers, flash flood, dam breaking, hurricane, tornado, earth quake, volcanoes and volcanic fall out (Yellowstone), tsunami, avalanche, mud slide, cave in/sink hole, forest fire, brush fire, whatever. Take Wisconsin for instance, the two best areas to be generally are probably the extreme Southwest corner of the state and extreme Northeast corner. In the Southeast corner, besides tornadoes, one must be concerned of the Mississippi or Wisconsin Rivers backup up/overflowing beyond the 100 year flood plains, thus you do not want to be down low in the valleys. In the Northeast – it is far more forested, so forest fires would be a concern. There are many other spots in the state that are good also, you just need to think through the good and bad points for each.- Rourke
Jim,
Some views from a UK perspective: A few years ago I and my family used to live on the outskirts of London. Being aware of the need to be out and away from London and other major cities we looked at what other parts of the UK had to offer.
We considered the low population areas like Scotland but decided against this as among other things it has a relatively short growing season and winters can be harsh.
I asked a colleague of mine what he thought of South West England where he lived. This is his reply.
DEVON & SOMERSET ( A SURVIVALISTS PERSPECTIVE )
This area usually conjures up images of quaint seaside towns & picture postcard villages and this image has helped to establish the area as one of the most popular holiday destinations in the United Kingdom. I have left out Cornwall on purpose as I believe that if you are looking for a retreat and going to move you may as well consider all problems including things like tsunami and even nuclear power stations that may be in the area you are looking at.
The purpose of this article is to establish the area credentials as a survivalists retreat or permanent location.
While the area 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). You can sometimes even to get in two seasons.
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 areas 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 and Somerset have very few “new towns”, the cities 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 area has more miles of roads than any other 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. Many of the small lanes have grass growing down the middle which shows how little they are used. Many are also enclose by high banking and hedges, similar to Normandy. If read about the D Day landings you will see that in the initial stages the allies were bogged down because of these high bank hedges. This could be a boon to your security in time of need.
The massive network of lanes also 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 and Somerset 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, it’s called:
“ THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS”.
All joking aside, the area is used to these changes in population, but in reality I think many would only make it as far as Dorset or East Somerset before their fuel runs out and petrol stations will have no fuel to sell, so many will try to settle there. In saying that I do realise that you can get from London to the far west of Cornwall on one tank of fuel but I think in the survival situation this would be unlikely. 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 it 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 fairly large military presence, which may help in the control of large movements of refugees; those who remain in their communities will pose no threat and as said above 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.
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 and Somerset are definitely worth looking at as a long- term survival location, an area of particular interest is:
The Blackdown Hills
The Blackdown Hills are a little-known group of hills lying on the border of Devon and Somerset. Broadly, the area extends from Wellington in the north to Honiton in the south and from Cullompton in the west to Chard in the east.
The Blackdown Hills are best known for the dramatic, steep, wooded scarp face they present to the north. To the south the land dips away gently as a plateau, deeply dissected by valleys. On top of the plateau there are wide open windswept spaces; in the valleys nestle villages and hamlets surrounded by ancient and intricate patterns of small enclosed fields and a maze of winding high-hedged lanes.
The isolated villages and springline farmsteads retain a quiet rustic charm and, using local building material – chertstone, cob and thatch – many of the buildings are of considerable architectural merit with great appeal in their mix of styles. A number of important archaeological sites add richness to the landscape, from high wooded promontories such as the great earthworks of Iron Age Hembury Fort to the recently discovered evidence of Roman iron smelting.
Above all, however, what makes the Blackdown Hills special is the unspoilt rural character of the ‘ordinary’ landscape. Farming, largely dairying, has retained many traditional practices. The area remains sparsely populated and there are no towns within the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
