The YesBus is an off-grid countryside basecamp where humans big and small come to heal sizzled minds, learn new skills and hatch fresh ideas.
The YesBus was born out of the type of thought process we try to encourage in everyone who visits our little patch of countryside.
Just imagine if there was a different way to do things, even when that idea is so ingrained you’d never have thought to question it. Maybe that means creating a new way to work, or play. Maybe it means doing something no human has ever done before, just because you can.
Or maybe it’s simply thinking, ‘I wonder just what incredible things you could do on a bus, if only the darn seats weren’t there!’
You never know, maybe a new way of looking at things will change your life in ways you could never have imagined.
After three years of life on rented land in Sussex The YesBus moved to a long-term home in December 2020, at the Big Sky Hideaway near Boston, Lincolnshire.
First and foremost the YesBus is a YesTribe community basecamp and we put on regular free meet-ups for the YesTribe and any other group who ordinarily wouldn’t enjoy time in the countryside.
Local fitness and youth gatherings have been helping the YesBus settle in to her new retirement in Lincolnshire, and these days the YesBus can also be rented as accommodation, with profits going towards the annual running costs of SayYesMore, which continues to look after 100+ volunteer leaders who organise over 800 free outdoor events a year around the UK.
The YesBus is also available to hire for any groups who share our ethos of using community, adventure and optimism to lead positive change. We hope you can visit for an outdoorsy stay, or one of many workshops, skill sessions, co-working days, retreats, outdoorsy weekends and summer camps that we’ll put on throughout the year.
And we’re always game for new ideas to keep Bussy happy - which means surrounding her with happy, positive humans.
LOCATION
The YesBus now lives near Boston, in Lincolnshire, at the Big Sky Hideaway, a camping farm with alpacas, outdoor events and a renewables-powered mission.
“We didn’t want to leave. We knew the stay was going to be pretty cool, but it was even better than we could possibly ever have imagined.”
“I wanted to say thanks. I had been lurking in the background of the YesTribe for a while before I visited the YesBus at Brinsbury in March 2019. It was my first time camping out away from home since a cycling crash and at that point I was still all soft food and drinks through a straw. I was desperate to get back outside, but I’d lost both the fitness for a long hike and the confidence to camp somewhere remote. No one I met at the YesBus knew any of this, but the place you have set up gave me what essentially was the safe outdoor space I needed at that time. So, thank you.”
POWERED BY SUN & KINDNESS
All of SayYesMore’s projects, the YesBus included, are volunteer-led and donation-funded. We had a choice when we launched, to do the typical thing and charge a set price for guests, or to find a way to let value pay.
So we open up most weekends for Tribe Days, where anyone can come along and make use of the space as they wish, whether that’s working upstairs, chatting around the fire, or just reading in a hammock. And then they donate how much they’re able.
We need a touch under £10,000 to run the bus each year and in addition to donations we hire the space out to groups, forward thinking businesses and schools. If you think of a group who is looking for a unique venue, or a company with a CSR budget and a great ethos, we’d love to chat!
HOW YOU CAN HELP & GET INVOLVED
Donate towards running costs
Spread the word - the more people who hear about the bus, the sooner we can get people on board to make this world a better place. A little link to @theyesbus on Facebook or Instagram might just lead to something awesome.
Hire the bus - or tell someone you know that it's available for cool events. The YesBus is perfect for a unique team building day, or a thank you to a group of hard working staff. Or maybe you need a cool space for a film premiere, product launch or workshop?
Supporters & Partners - we're always looking for forward-thinking partners who offer products that we can put to good use. Sustainable power sources, adventure and outdoor brands, graphics companies, space-saving furniture designers and anyone with experience in conversions, tiny homes and creating awesome spaces.
Become a YesBus founder - We are always evolving our project and a donation of £100 will get your (or your company’s) name on the Founders’ Staircase for all eternity,
Come and visit - there’s only so much we can share here. Instead, come see for yourself. We promise you’ll be impressed!
“Every time I see the YesBus I’m more and more amazed. What a project! I can’t wait to visit!”
“I woke up to adventure books on my left and a sunrise to the right. What an amazing place.”
“This is like paradise!”
“An amazing place to spend an evening. How can you not love a bus with a well-stocked adventure library and a lovely warm wood-fired heater, all surrounded by beautiful countryside”
“Mummy chose a good campsite because it has a YesBus”
A London bus is synonymous with city living, so the YesBus
was the perfect centrepiece for this project; it's a city dweller
utterly transformed by moving to the countryside.
THE YESBUS IN A NUTSHELL
Artist’s vision before we brought the bus to reality
Our surroundings have a resounding impact on our thoughts, confidence and imagination. We've created an upper deck co-working space with endless views of green hills, complete with all the tech you need to work seamlessly, meaning all you need to do is concentrate on creating the good stuff.
First ever screening!
It only seemed right to install a cinema in the bus. Our big screen is the perfect setting for presentations, inspirational talks and film showings. With ear-massaging surround sound, a seated capacity of 30 on comfy low-level loungers, and a 2 metre screen, there's no choice other than to sit back and enjoy the show.
Films
A short film by Nathalie Baker about how the kindness of strangers led to the creation of the YesBus.
An update about the YesBus beamed into YesStories, just a week after the bus opened to the public.
In 2017 we ran a crowdfunding campaign to help complete our conversion. Here's the film, which shows the bus' early transition and explains the theory behind this project.
Founders Chris Barnes & Dave Cornthwaite introduce the YesBus one year into its conversion, from a temporary home in a west London boat yard.
Our Mission
The YesBus is run by SayYesMore, a social enterprise that nudges people towards finding out what they’re really capable of. Since our launch in June 2015 we’ve grown a community of tens of thousands of people, held five life-changing Yestivals (the first single-use plastic free festivals in the UK), and organised over 1000 free events which have inspired, motivated and broken down limitations. We’re just getting started.
We are founded on the basic principles of getting people together offline and in the great outdoors. We open doors, opportunities and friendships by saying yes, spending time with like-minded people, and getting outside as often as we can.
Schools Initiative
One of our aims through SayYesMore is to use any profit from paid events to trickle down to pay for cheaper or free events and programmes to benefit those who wouldn't usually attend.
Once the YesBus is fully up and running we plan on launching a Schools Initiative to especially work with inner city children who don't usually have the opportunity to visit the countryside. This will include workshops, programmes and educational visits, designed to build confidence, independence, empowerment and social responsibility.
We're currently seeking a sponsor to launch this programme. See the attached document for full information.
“The YesBus is the result of all of our philosophies rolled into one, and we’re building it for anyone who ever wanted to make more of their time and have a positive impact.”
What is the YesBus?
The YesBus is an incubation chamber for magic. A multifunctional community HQ powered by solar.
Designed for meetings, lectures, meals, gatherings, celebrations and lessons the YesBus is a co-working hub, yoga studio, cinema, speaking venue, kitchen, cafe, library, a space for learning and sharing.
We plan to have a camping ground, a firepit, compost toilets (with a view!) and a permaculture garden. We’re creating the perfect space which is just at home introducing inner-city school kids to the countryside as it is as a base for start-up founders.
The YesBus will be a modern tech hub with high speed wi-fi and projector systems with bluetooth surround sound, but sometimes we’ll switch off and turn it into a digital detox hub, just the ticket for a weekend of quiet relaxation away from the busyness and stress of the city.
And what’s more, the YesBus will be work on a self-sustaining off-grid power source, using solar and wind to charge the batteries which in turn will power our lights, sockets, ideas and intuition.
We'd like the bus to be an example of what you can achieve with space-saving furniture in a relatively small space, and every bit of the bus will at least two purposes.
We believe in the power of taking a familiar idea and turning it into something new. An out-of-the-box decision - like buying a bus and turning it into a community hub - is inspiring in itself, and spending time inside a unique, creative space helps us come up with innovative, exciting ideas. The YesBus is an example of exactly why it exists - there's a beauty in bringing an audacious idea to reality.
Join the YesBus Team
We are expanding our voluntary team to share managing, promoting and event hosting duties.
We are looking for people with time and passion for the YesBus and SayYesMore who are willing to exchange a bit of time and skills for free access to the bus and a few perks along the way.
Mid May 2016: Dave, Chris, Tam and Rima consider the possibility of buying a bus for the YesTribe. Guess what happened next?!
FAQs
If you have any questions about the bus drop us a line at yesbus@sayyesmore.com and we'll get right back to you
Who can use the bus? Anyone! We have regular co-working days when people can come and work on their own projects, more curated days with workshops and skill sessions, and the YesBus is also available for private hire.
Can international visitors use their non-UK plug sockets on the bus? In most cases a simple universal adaptor will suffice.
Where is the YesBus? It lives at the Big Sky Hideaway in Boston, Lincolnshire
When are the opening times: The YesBus is only open during events, which are listed on the Facebook page. If you’re not on Facebook drop us an email to yesbus@sayyesmore.com
