When his brother offered him an abandoned static caravan that was sitting on his farm, Benn Berkeley, 38, took it as an opportunity to move out of his rented apartment and start a new life off-grid.
“It wasn’t pre-planned; it was forced out of COVID,” he said. “When COVID happened, I lost all my work. It was a mix of having nothing to do and the opportunity to do up this static home.”
In August 2020, Berkeley’s brother took over a farm that included the crumbling structure and offered it to him. Despite acknowledging the caravan was a “fixer-upper,” Berkeley, a freelance filmmaker from Cornwall, UK, seized the chance and began work the following month.
The caravan, a 44-foot by 10-foot structure, required extensive renovations. “I completely gutted the place out,” Berkeley said. “We had to support one of the walls as it was caving in—the first job was to make it safe. We changed the windows and then realized there was a damp issue, so we ripped all of the walls out—it was a completely open space.”
With the space cleared, Berkeley had a blank canvas to design his cabin. Originally configured as a two-bedroom unit with a bathroom and kitchen, the new layout features a double bedroom, bathroom, corridor, and an open-plan living and kitchen area.
A complete novice in DIY and construction, Berkeley relied on YouTube tutorials to guide him through every stage of the transformation. “YouTube is such a fantastic resource,” he said. “Every single part of [renovating] the cabin, I learned on the site—from changing a window, removing a door, building a wall, or how to build a kitchen. It was all there for me.”
Berkeley managed to do everything except the electrics and plumbing himself. The total cost came to 10,000 pounds (approx. $12,600).
Beyond its stunning transformation, the log cabin is also entirely off-grid. Berkeley heats his home with a log burner, uses gas bottles for cooking, and powers the cabin with solar panels installed on the farm.
This minimalist lifestyle has given Berkeley a sense of freedom and self-sufficiency. “It is a very simple lifestyle, which I think we have lost,” he said. “There is an element of simplicity when you are living a life like this. I can govern myself a lot more; I am not pressed into working a certain amount of hours a week as I know my outgoings each month.”
For anyone dreaming of making a big change, Berkeley’s advice is simple: “Jump in head first. It’s an amazing and empowering experience.”
