Looking after yourself?

[tjwuk]

I must say most people think I'm a nut anyway, going into the forest alone, and at night! When you mention Gransfors, they think you are offering them a beer, and Husquavarna, well you can see them thinking how does he get that chainsaw in that pack!

All in all though, I'm no scardy cat but know when things aint right. I did speak to SWMBO as I walked away, and I was asked if I had contacted the plod. Needless to say she did it for me, never had much luck with them to be honest!

As for carrying on, yes I will regardless, will just upgrade the deadfalls traps in the area! lmao.

 

[tommy the cat]

I think you played that one about right.......but what were they up to...??
Being the ultimate optimist I would say youths trying to have a quiet look see to what you were upto and then they bottled it.
To be honest I quite often see people when out and I stay quiet crouch and usually watch to see if they spot me....(nutter!!!) which if they did (no one has yet) they would probably have the same reaction that you did.
Bit weird but probably nowt.
dave

 

[EddBamber]

Hehe, I have had two experiences of this.
I was walking through banbury with a friend, we were walking up this steep hill and there was someone maybe a few years older (wearing a hoodie :O) than us walking a few metres behind. I asked my friend to you think this guy is following us? he replied I dont know, but lets take a few turns and see if he follows. So we carried on walking and we took an odd route home but this guy was persistant. I said to my friend lets step up the pace a little and get home quicker, he eventually turned off and we got home .

My second experience was i was walking through the woods (about 2 1/2 miles from where i live) and there is a lake there. People fish around it and i walked past them and i may have got a bit paranoid because they looked alittle creepy but, i could have sworn one of them kept hiding whenever i looked round so i got out of them woods pretty freakin quick!!

But honestly i dont think anyone would try putting me in there van.

Its not a great experience at all...

I think my action plan is to get a walking stick and maybe carry that around?

 

[QDanT]

I'd be tempted to report the incident to plod - as next time they're creeping about it may be a lone female or young mother with kids, or a couple of teenagers out for some woods camping, that get the "benefit" of their attention!!
Dodgy

It's a few years ago now but my wife was walking to the next village along the back road with no houses in site when a car passed drove on turned round and drove back to stop next to her with the window down, so B walked over thinking he wanted directions to be confronted with him exposing himself and saying "how about this for size love". Now B's a fully paid up combat grandma and mouthfull wise he got more than he bargained for and sped off. When I was told I said you'd better tell the local plod as it could have been one of our grandkids, who walked that road to school so B did. A few weeks later B was stopped by the local plod and he said " We've caught the bloke and it's OK you won't have to go to court as he's admitted the offence with you and at the time he was out on bail for indecent exposure on someone else" So good on the plod but I bet the b only got a slap on the wrist. just my 2p's worth
cheers Danny

 

[Laurentius]

To be frank I don't know what I would do in that situation, as the saying goes, just because you are paranoid does not mean they are not out to get you.

I think the general rule is to scare them more than they scare you, and don't let them "smell" fear. That is my urban rule anyway whilst I inhabit the urban badlands (there was a shooting only a few hundred yards away the other day)

Don't look like you are reacting, if you felt the need to pack up, you should do that without making it obvious that is what you are doing.

FWIW once upon a time (more than 30 years ago now) I was confronted by an armed response squad because I had this magical ability to disappear into the background, (this is what they told me, because apparantly I had been challenged by University security and vanished, they having seen something that looked to them like a gun, it was actually a flute) even the armed response squad complemented me on the fact that they did not find me where they had expected to, but then I knew where I was and they didn't I was probably drunk and the last thing I expected was an armed response squad so I was a little nonchalant. They let me go on my way once they discovered that I had nothing more dangerous than a flute.

The consequences of course of being done over where no-one can see what is happening is rather worrying, but I do think there is a distinct possibility that you would scare them the more.

I have however felt more intimidated in urban environments than rural ones. But then cannoing is not my thing

 

[Everything Mac]

not a pleasant experience. and yes - it is certainly a bit odd.

cant say i have ever experienced that myself - im sure i would be pretty sodding useless if i did.

i would have to say my first instinct would be to shout hello - you'd be able to gauge the situation from their response.

andy

 

[glyn77]

Three against one, if they'd wished you harm, well I dread to think.

they ran, therefore they were probably just being nosey, not that that makes it any less scary.

Its easy to get paranoid these days, but truth is that the fear of crime vastly outweighs its likelihood.

As for an action plan, in the event of a 'real' threat, leg it.

Cheers,
Glyn

 

[tjwuk]

I have been in some pretty scary situations in the past, and usualy have a good instinct for such things. I guess the missus was right, as I had thought, what if it was someone who wouldn't have handled it so well.

I have seen mothers with prams not so far from there, I dread to think any further than that.

I know this is another thread thought, but I often think here in the UK, the powers that be make it 'difficult' to protect yourself, with most knee jerk thought reactions, where if you think that way something is wrong in your head!

Personally I have taught my daughters how to disable someone as quickly as possible, hope they never have to use it!

 

[EddBamber]

I think that at the moment in a way the news are scare mongering because the recession wouldnt have been all that bad if the news hadnt have spread it all around. I suppose its like people who wear hoodies get a bad name now because of the stereotypes.

 

[tobes01]

It's not something I take to the woods, but on the odd occasion I have to wander round town at the wrong hours, I tend to carry an umbrella that a relative gave me. Not any old umbrella though, oh no...

http://www.real-self-defense.com/unbreakable_umbrella.html

 

[Ex Member - Sidney Bounty]

See now around here we just play with our pump action 12 ga the noise is enough to make em run and go baaa....

 

[bearbait]

If they "run and go baaa" in Wales they'd have another problem: lonely farmers.

 

[bashabuddy]

If they "run and go baaa" in Wales they'd have another problem: lonely farmers.

Yea, and velcro gloves!

 

[johnnytheboy]

We were out in the woods one day and for some reason I noticed a shape rather than a colour, it was someone hair sticking up from behind a banking, it was brown hair so how i noticed it i will never know as he was quite far away with a good back drop.

We went over to see what or who was watching us and it was one of the guys from a shooting syndicate who had the shooting rights there. The thing is there were no pheasant and i have never seen any deer there. He was checking to see what we were upto.

Needless to say the guy was brand new when we were bleathering as we werent upto anything suspicious. We did allot of shooting ourselves so we had allot to chat about.

 

[Tye Possum]

Well when I was younger I was out in the woods with a friend and we were confronted by a couple teenagers who weren't too friendly and we ended up getting hit a few times with a wooden pole the one guy had. We ran away though and they didn't follow thankfully, my friend got hit in the leg and he was limping so they could have caught us no problem.
Another time we were chased out of the woods by teenagers who threw stuff at us, they weren't the same guys though.

I've also found some marajuana growing in there, and there's always people creeping around... Talk about needing to find a new camp site! lmao

Nowadays I tend to be the one scaring people, but not on purpose. I'm a pretty big guy and carry an axe and knife on my belt so when/if people see me, they tend to go the other way, and frankly I don't blame them, even though I'm actually a nice guy.

 

[Sainty]

You must have been down Camborne way. Strange folk down there.

Martin

 

[nevetsjc80]

Id of dug a large pit and cooked them up with hot rocks! LOL

 

[gowersponger]

its that time of year when you get strange people looking for magic mushrooms maybe they saw you and thought **** and turned round.
also i no in parts of kent people stash drugs and cash in the woods

 

[apj1974]

This is one of those times when I think a mobile phone is really useful. Doesn't matter if its got no signal, just put it up to your ear and talk, if you look at the people once or twice they usually don't wait to find out if you are calling the police, your 8'6" mate with the baseball bat or just your mum!

Of course if you really want to scare them call SWMBO

 

[Minotaur]

FWIW once upon a time (more than 30 years ago now) I was confronted by an armed response squad because I had this magical ability to disappear into the background, (this is what they told me, because apparantly I had been challenged by University security and vanished, they having seen something that looked to them like a gun, it was actually a flute) even the armed response squad complemented me on the fact that they did not find me where they had expected to, but then I knew where I was and they didn't I was probably drunk and the last thing I expected was an armed response squad so I was a little nonchalant. They let me go on my way once they discovered that I had nothing more dangerous than a flute.

Know a lorry driver this happened to at an airport. At the stores point, no one there, so he gets out, and tries to get some attention. Next minute a copper turns up, and they have a chat what is he doing etc. The only thing is he looks down, and like in a film has a group of red dots on his chest. The cop at this point realises no threat, so signals the rest of the squad to form up.

Apprently when he went the next day the store had a rocket sent up them.