Guilden Gate Vineyard: A Sustainable Smallholding and Young English Vineyard in Bassingbourn, Hertfordshire
A Smallholding with Vineyard Ambitions in the Hertfordshire Countryside
Guilden Gate is a working smallholding of about two hectares (five and a half acres) at North End in the village of Bassingbourn, just south of Royston on the Hertfordshire - Cambridgeshire border. Run by Simon and Jacqueline Saggers, the project is unusual in English viticulture: it is a functioning farm, a sustainability demonstration site, an off-grid home, a glamping destination and a young vineyard rolled into one. Although the vineyard is not yet producing commercially, the property already generates its own energy, harvests its own water, recycles all of its waste and sells a range of cottage-industry products. For visitors interested in English wine, regenerative land use and rural tourism, Guilden Gate offers a rare combined insight into all three.
The Saggers Family Story
The Saggers family have lived and worked in Bassingbourn since the 1600s, and Simon and Jacqueline are the current generation of that line. The holding as it now exists, however, only began to take shape in October 1999, when the couple bought the farmland and started the lifelong task of turning it into a sustainable smallholding. From the outset the project was conceived as an integrated whole rather than a single-enterprise farm. Native hedging, wildflower meadows, coppice woodland, vegetable fields and fruit orchards were laid out as a connected mosaic designed to produce a wide range of foods while building soil, supporting pollinators and keeping external inputs to a minimum.
That holistic design has shaped everything the couple have done since. The aim, in their own words, is "not to produce a huge yield of one crop but to create a rich, diverse and interconnected smallholding eco-system", a philosophy that fits closely with BioRegional's One Planet Living framework which Guilden Gate follows.
Sustainability and One Planet Living
Guilden Gate is registered as a One Planet Living demonstration site, and the family have designed the property to close as many resource cycles as possible. Water is supplied through a combination of rainwater harvesting and a borehole, and the site is not connected to mains sewerage; instead a dry twin-vault compost toilet handles human waste, while greywater is treated on site through a chain of straw and bark filters, vertical and horizontal flow reed beds, a solar pond and a willow-trench soakaway.
Energy is generated independently. A wind turbine meets the site's electricity needs when the wind blows, solar panels heat the cottage's hot water when the sun shines, and the mixed woodland planted in 1999 supplies all of the firewood used for space heating. The combination of conservation measures and on-site generation means that Guilden Gate is calculated to be a net zero CO2 emissions property. No genetically modified organisms are used or consumed on the holding, and the couple re-use and recycle as much as possible on site to keep external inputs and waste to a minimum.
The cottage itself, which sits at the heart of the holding, was built by Simon and Jacqueline as a showcase of low-energy and passive-solar design, and is an object of considerable interest to architects, academics and self-builders.
The Vineyard: Patience Required
The vineyard at Guilden Gate was planted in 2012 and consists of 350 Bacchus vines on roughly one third of an acre. Bacchus is one of the most widely planted white grape varieties in England and is particularly suited to the cooler climate of the East of England, where it produces crisp, aromatic dry whites with notes of gooseberry and elderflower.
At the time of writing, no commercial vintage has yet been released. The owners explain that vines typically need three to four growing seasons to establish properly, and that local wildlife has not made the wait easy: rabbits and muntjac deer have eaten young vines and forced significant replanting. The first wine, when it comes, is expected to be a crisp, dry white, marketed under the name "Bassingbourn wine". Visitors to the smallholding can walk among the vines and follow the progress of the project in person.
Eco Glamping at Two Distinct Sites
Glamping is one of the most visible strands of the Guilden Gate business and gives visitors a chance to stay overnight on the smallholding. There are two separate sites, each let exclusively so that guests have privacy, and the two can be booked together for larger groups or two families (up to seven people in total).
The Coppice Woodland
The Coppice Woodland site is set in two acres of native woodland and is laid out as a series of intertwined "rooms". Sleeping arrangements include a beautifully renovated 1973 VW camper van with a permanent full-sized double bed, and a woodsman's yurt with a king-size bed that can either sleep two or be used as a living area. A cedar-shingle canopy shelters outdoor dining in the rain, while the open glade has a fire pit and rustic football goals.
Bathroom facilities are unapologetically eco: a twin-vault dry compost toilet (described by the owners as "genuinely beautiful") and a "bathroom" featuring a wood-fired hot tub and a cold shower. Cooking is done on a gas burner at a butler sink with a wood-slab worktop and water hand pump.
The cost is from £330 for two nights for up to four people.
The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden is designed as a romantic retreat for two. The centrepiece is an earth-sheltered cabin with a king-size bed and solar fairy lights, set among wildflower meadow and fruit orchard. A cedar-shingle camp kitchen and dining area features a single-slab table with benches, while a nearby circular fire pit and herb garden encourage fireside relaxation and culinary exploration. Outdoor lounging comes in the form of a covered swing pod and an open hammock, and a private woodland spa area houses a wood-fired hot tub, a cold shower and a compost toilet.
The cost is from £330 for two nights for two people.
Useful Things to Know Before Booking
Neither glamping site has mains power; lighting is provided by solar lamps, solar fairy lights and torches, and devices can be charged at a potting shed a short walk away. Both sites are unheated, so guests are asked to bring appropriate clothing, hot water bottles and extra duvets or sleeping bags in the winter months. Bookings are taken by phone on 01763 243960 or by emailing simon.saggers@gmail.com.
Guided Tours of a Working Smallholding
Guilden Gate has been running guided tours since the early days of the project, and they have been of interest to everyone from academics to architects and home-growers. A standard tour lasts approximately one and a half hours and covers the key elements of the landscape and infrastructure, including:
- Low-energy and passive-solar house design
- Renewable energy systems (wind, solar, biomass)
- Vegetable and herb growing
- Orchard and woodland management
- Wildflower meadows
- The veggie box scheme
- Bee keeping and protected cropping
- Autonomous water services (rainwater, borehole, reed-bed greywater recycling)
- The vineyard and any other areas of interest
Tour rates are:
- £60 for up to 5 people
- £80 for up to 10 people
- £95 for up to 15 people
Larger groups and school parties are welcome by arrangement. Tours can also be expanded into a more technical written or verbal exercise, with an additional fee agreed on the day.
Consultancy Services
Simon and Jacqueline have experience of working with a range of organisations and individuals on planning, smallholding, energy and water projects, and offer consultancy from £35 per hour. Anyone interested is asked to phone to discuss their needs.
The Veggie Box Scheme
Guilden Gate runs a small, flexible seasonal veggie box scheme. The season runs from late May (spring) through to Christmas, and each box contains a varied selection of fresh vegetables, soft and top fruit, herbs, mushrooms, honey and eggs, all produced on site. The contents change with the seasons: asparagus and rhubarb in May, sprouts and leeks in December, and so on. Boxes are harvested and packed on Fridays, and customers collect them from the holding at an agreed weekly date rather than being tied to a fixed slot.
The smallholding is no longer certified organic by the Soil Association, but the family continue to follow organic growing methods and principles, and benchmark their prices against the national organic box schemes and the supermarkets. Customers may name up to two "personal dislikes" to be left out of each box, and home-produced honey and woodland products are available as special additions. There is currently a waiting list; prospective customers should phone 01763 243960 to be added.
Handmade Furniture from Salvaged Timber
Simon has partnered with James Paxman to craft tables, benches, sculptures and bespoke items from a collection of locally sourced hardwoods, including beech, oak, Lebanese cedar, elm, ash, lime, chestnut and walnut. Where possible the pair salvage dead, dying or dangerous trees from the surrounding area, and they are equally happy to recycle timber from demolition projects and skips. The partnership ethos is to use each tree to make whatever the timber itself suggests, and bespoke commissions are welcomed.
Guide prices are:
- From £250 for a small coffee table
- £1,000 for a large dining table
- £60 for a coffee block
All pieces are finished with natural oils and are designed to live happily outside or in, weathering and developing character over many years.
Maddie Saggers Designs
Among the most charming products offered at Guilden Gate is the Maddie Saggers Designs range of greetings cards. Maddie is the couple's daughter, and she created the collection to raise funds for her gap year in 2022. Each card is £3, or 5 for £10, and is printed on recycled card with a brown paper envelope. Cards measure 14.5 cm x 10.5 cm and feature Maddie's original artwork, including designs titled Teacups, Baking, Cacti Birthday Card, Bugs, Fungi, Pot Plants, Picked Flowers, Thank You, Gardening, Cat on Window, Indian Runner Ducks and Yoga.
Orders can be placed by emailing maddiesaggersdesigns@gmail.com or by phoning 01763 243960.
Press and Television Coverage
Guilden Gate has been a popular subject for journalists and television producers over the years. Features have included:
- The Independent (2005) - "Revolution in the Countryside"
- The Telegraph Magazine (2008) - "Self-Sufficient Living"
- Hertfordshire Life (2008) - "Enjoying the Good Life in Royston"
- La Republicca (Italian press, 2008)
- County Kitchen (2009)
- Cambridgeshire Journal (2012)
On television the holding has been featured on Country Days (2005), In Search of England's Green and Pleasant Land (2009), Countryfile (2010), the Great British Menu (2010) and the Hairy Bikers (2013). The full playlist can be viewed on the Guilden Gate YouTube channel.
Planning a Visit to Guilden Gate
Guilden Gate is at 86 North End, Bassingbourn, Royston, Herts, SG8 5PD. Bassingbourn lies just off the A505 between Royston and Great Chishill, close to the A1(M) and the M11, making it straightforward to reach from London, Cambridge and the wider South East. Guilden Gate does not have fixed opening hours; visits are by arrangement, either by phoning Simon and Jacqueline on 01763 243960 or by email. The couple receive a large number of enquiries and may not be able to reply immediately, so a phone call is the surest way to reach them for bookings, availability, veggie boxes or commissions.