Places to land

Havens — A Different Way to Live

Intentional communities, eco-villages, off-grid projects, community land trusts, and the spectrum of alternative living — yurts, tiny homes, narrowboats, roundhouses, campervans. For those who feel the pull of something different.

Why Havens

The search for belonging

The road is good. But the road is also looking for somewhere to land — a place that feels like it might hold you for a while, or forever. This page is for those searching for that.

Whether you're looking for a community to join, land to steward, an alternative structure to buy into, or simply ideas about what a different kind of life looks like in practice — this is a gathered resource of real places, real organisations, and real alternatives that exist right now in Britain and beyond.

It's also a living map. If you know a haven that belongs here, there's a form at the bottom. This builds by word of mouth.

Types of haven
Intentional Community
People living together by choice, sharing land, resources, or purpose. From loose co-housing to deep communal living.
Eco-Village
Communities built around ecological principles — low-impact living, renewable energy, sustainable food growing.
Community Land Trust
Non-profit land ownership that removes land from the speculative market and holds it for long-term community benefit.
Off-Grid Projects
Homesteads, woodland projects, and land-based living outside the conventional system. Some accept volunteers or residents.
Alternative Dwellings
Yurts, roundhouses, tiny homes, converted barns, narrowboats — the structures of a simpler and more intentional life.
The Road
Campervans, caravans, and nomadic living as a way of being — the pilgrim's dwelling, always moving.
The map

Havens across Britain

Known intentional communities, eco-villages, and significant alternative living projects. Click a marker for details. This map grows as the road discovers more.

Know a haven that belongs on this map? Tell us about it →

Intentional Communities & Eco-Villages

12 havens
Findhorn Foundation
Moray, Scotland
One of the world's most famous intentional communities. A spiritual and ecological village of 400+ residents. Founded 1962. Cohousing, workshops, and a Living Machine wastewater system. Guest weeks available.
findhorn.org
Eco-villageVisitor programme
The Tinum Community
Pembrokeshire, Wales
Low-impact community living on 66 acres of Welsh countryside. Roundhouses, yurts, woodland and growing land. One of the most established off-grid communities in Britain. Occasional open days.
thetinum.com
Off-gridLand-based
Sirius Community
Dorset, England
Spiritual intentional community on 60 acres in Dorset. Founded in the Findhorn tradition. Welcomes volunteers and visitors. Organic growing, meditation, and communal living at its core.
sirius-community.com
CommunityVolunteering
Lammas Ecovillage
Pembrokeshire, Wales
The first low-impact development community in Wales. Nine households, each building their own low-impact home on their own plot. A landmark planning and community achievement. Educational visits possible.
lammas.org.uk
Eco-villageLow-impact
Chapelleigh
Somerset, England
A small cooperative community on 16 acres of Somerset farmland. Woodland, growing land, and a commitment to land stewardship. Occasional volunteer days and openings for new members.
chapelleigh.net
CooperativeGrowing
ZEGG Community
Brandenburg, Germany
One of Europe's most well-known intentional communities. 120 residents on 12 hectares. Research into non-violent communication, ecology, and new social structures. International seminars and visits welcome.
zegg.de
CommunitySeminars
Bothie Nation
Across Scotland
A network of wild bothies — simple, unlocked shelters in the Scottish wilderness available to all. Not a community in the traditional sense, but a practice of shared refuge. The pilgrim's haven.
bothienation.org.uk
Shared landThe road
Diggers & Dreamers
Britain-wide directory
The definitive UK guide to communal living. Directory of communities, how-to guides, and the history of the movement. If you're looking to join a community in Britain, start here.
diggers-and-dreamers.co.uk
Directory
Fellowship for Intentional Community
Global directory
The world's largest database of intentional communities. Searchable by location, type, and what's on offer. Hundreds of communities across Britain and Europe listed with contact details.
ic.org
Directory
UK Cohousing Network
Britain-wide
The national body for cohousing in the UK. Find established and forming communities, learn about the model, and connect with people building new cohousing projects near you.
cohousing.org.uk
Cohousing
WWOOF UK
Britain-wide
World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. Work in exchange for board on organic farms, smallholdings, and off-grid projects across Britain. The classic way to taste land-based life before committing.
wwoof.org.uk
Organic farmsVolunteering
HelpX
Global network
Volunteer on farms, hostels, homesteads and eco-projects worldwide in exchange for accommodation. Broader than WWOOF, includes many UK off-grid and alternative living projects. Good way to explore.
helpx.net
Land-basedVolunteering

Community Land Trusts & Land Justice

8 resources
Community Land Trust Network
England
The national membership body for CLTs in England. Find existing trusts, learn how to set one up, and access policy, legal, and funding resources. The starting point for CLT exploration.
communitylandtrusts.org.uk
CLT
Community Land Scotland
Scotland
Scotland's community land sector is among the most advanced in Europe, thanks to land reform legislation. CLS supports communities acquiring and managing land. Remarkable case studies of what's possible.
scottishclt.org
CLTScotland
Landworkers' Alliance
Britain-wide
The union for farmers, foresters, growers, and land-based workers in the UK. Campaigns for land access, food sovereignty, and the right to make a living from the land. Includes new entrant support.
landworkers-alliance.org.uk
Land access
FarmStart
England & Wales
Helping new entrant farmers get started without needing to own land. Starter units, mentoring, and routes into land-based livelihoods for people who didn't inherit a farm.
farmstart.org.uk
New entrantMentoring
The Living Land Project
England
A CLT specifically created to secure land for affordable housing and community growing. A working model of how community land can be protected from the market and held for long-term benefit.
livinglandproject.org.uk
CLT
Right to Roam
England & Wales
Campaigning for the legal right to access land for walking in England and Wales — Scotland already has it. Land justice from the walker's perspective. Important context for any pilgrim on the road.
righttoroam.org.uk
Land access
Our Land and Food
Britain-wide
Research and advocacy on land reform, food systems, and sustainable land use. Good overview of who owns what in Britain and why it matters for people seeking access to land.
ourlandandfood.org
Land reform
Low Impact Development
Britain-wide
Resources and case studies on planning permission for low-impact dwellings in Britain — yurts, roundhouses, earth-sheltered homes. Navigating the planning system is the key challenge; this maps the routes.
lowimpactdevelopment.net
PlanningLow-impact

Alternative Dwellings & Tiny Living

10 resources
The Yurt Project
Britain
Yurt makers, suppliers, and a community of people living in yurts across Britain. Practical information on yurt living, planning permission, and the realities of circular dwelling.
theyurtproject.co.uk
Yurt
Tiny House Community
Global
The main English-language hub for tiny home living. Plans, legal guides, community forums, and case studies from people who have made the move. Strong UK section.
tinyhousecommunity.com
Tiny home
The Tiny Life
Global resource
Research, guides, and real stories from tiny home dwellers. Financial breakdowns, design guides, and honest accounts of what works and what doesn't in small living.
thetinylifestyle.com
Tiny home
Canal & River Trust — Living Aboard
England & Wales
The official guide to living on a narrowboat or river boat in England and Wales. Licences, mooring, costs, and community. The waterway life, officially explained.
canalrivertrust.org.uk
Narrowboat
Canals & Rivers
Britain
Buyer's guide, community, and magazine for narrowboat life. Practical coverage of the liveaboard world — buying, maintaining, mooring, and the culture of life on the cut.
canalsandrivers.co.uk
Narrowboat
Ben Law's Roundhouse
Sussex, England
The most famous hand-built woodland home in Britain — built by Ben Law from local coppiced timber, featured on Grand Designs. His site covers woodland management, sustainable building, and the backstory.
roundhousedesign.net
RoundhouseWoodland
Permaculture Association
Britain
The national body for permaculture in Britain. Courses, design services, and a network of projects practising permaculture principles on the land. The design system that underpins much alternative living.
permaculture.org.uk
PermacultureLand design
Transition Network
Global
The Transition Towns movement — communities across the world transitioning away from fossil fuels and towards local resilience. Over 1,000 initiatives worldwide, including hundreds in Britain.
transitionnetwork.org
Community
Low-Impact.org
Britain
The most comprehensive free resource on low-impact living in Britain — from building with natural materials to off-grid energy, woodland management, and alternative economy. Invaluable.
lowimpact.org
Low-impact
Catalyst Collective
England
A cooperative providing resources, training, and support for groups wanting to live and work together. Housing cooperatives, cohousing, and intentional community — the practical and legal how-to.
catalystcollective.org
CooperativeTraining

"You don't have to own the land to belong to it."

Add to the map

Know a haven?

This page grows by word of mouth and by road. If you know an intentional community, eco-village, CLT, off-grid project, or alternative living resource that belongs here, share it. Every submission is read personally.

All submissions read personally. Adds take time — this is curated, not automated.

Thank you. Received with care — I'll read it on the road.