Three Pools Permaculture Farm & Vineyard, Llanvetherine, Wales
Three Pools: A Permaculture Farm with a Young Vineyard on the Edge of the Black Mountains
Nestled in the foothills of the Black Mountains just outside Abergavenny, Three Pools is one of the most ambitious regenerative farming projects in Wales. Officially founded in 2017, the 141-acre estate combines pasture, orchards, woodland and a young vineyard with a licensed event venue, a kitchen and three indoor dancefloors. It is run by a team led by founders Huw Evans and Tom Carter, who in just under a decade have turned a former conventional farm into a working demonstration of permaculture in action.
Three Pools is not (yet) a commercial winery. The vineyard was only planted in spring 2022, with the first wines expected under the Dewin Wines label in 2027. What it does offer today is something arguably rarer: an end-to-end, regenerative, low-intervention farm that produces its own meat, fruit and honey, runs a thriving events business, and is now adding wine to the list of produce that grows from its Welsh soils.
The Story: From a Boat Party in Croatia to 141 Acres in Wales
The seed for Three Pools was planted, appropriately enough, at a boat party during a festival in Croatia. Huw Evans and his long-time raving buddy Tom Carter were deep in conversation about farming, ecology and the future of food. A year later, in 2017, at just 25 years old and with no prior farming experience, they - along with a group of friends - took a leap of faith and moved onto a farm in Llanvetherine, near Abergavenny.
Their plan to rethink farming was, in their own words, "bold (and slightly naive)," but they knew it had to be financially viable. To fund the project they used their connections in the UK dance-music scene and started by throwing raves on the farm. As the land evolved, so did the events - expanding into weddings, festivals, wellness retreats and private parties. Today the team has built what they describe as "one of the best small music venues in Wales," complete with a Void sound system, licensed bars, a kitchen and food stall, sauna, camping fields and three indoor dancefloors.
Regenerative Farming and Permaculture Principles
The farm is built around permaculture principles and regenerative farming. The aim is a diverse, edible, perennial landscape that retains water, nurtures the soil and produces nutrient-dense food. The 141 acres are split across several distinct but interlinked systems:
- Belted Galloway cattle that live outdoors year-round, driving soil fertility across the pastures and woodlands.
- Large Black pigs, a rare native breed described as "ecosystem engineers," used to transform woodland and pasture.
- Badger Face Sheep, a Welsh heritage breed whose wool is one of nature's finest fibres and which work alongside the cattle in a rotational grazing system.
- A heritage apple orchard with plums and cherries, plus unique perry pears, including one of the largest pear trees in the UK - the St Gwytherin.
- Hives of honeybees that produce honey reflecting the farm's plant diversity.
- An on-site butchery that gives the team full control from birth to slaughter to plate.
The farm is a recognised Climate Farm Demo site. A 2022 carbon audit using the Agricalc tool suggested the farm sequestered 225 - 227% of its on-farm emissions - making the system a significant net carbon sink, largely thanks to woodland and hedgerow creation. The team is sceptical of "carbon counting as an environmental solution" but believes the result is genuine: their land sequesters more than the animals emit, and they have chosen not to sell those credits so that others can offset their emissions.
The Vineyard: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Seyval and Ortega
The newest addition to the farm is the vineyard. In spring 2022, the team planted 12,500 vines on a south-facing slope with a stream at its base - a site that, in their view, was always going to grow grapes.
Four varieties are planted:
- Pinot Noir - red
- Pinot Meunier - red
- Seyval - white
- Ortega - white
The choice was deliberate. With a changing climate and the rising popularity of British wines, the founders wanted a mix suited to Welsh conditions. Since 2022, several other small-scale vineyards have been planted in the village of Llanvetherine, with the wider Monmouthshire region increasingly associated with English and Welsh wine production.
Management is low-intervention, taking inspiration from biodynamic viticulture. The team is aiming for natural wines fermented using only the yeasts already present on the grapes, in keeping with the wider philosophy that "wine should reflect the taste of the land on which it's grown." When the wines are released, they will be marketed under the Dewin Wines label - a separate Instagram presence dedicated to the project.
Vineyard Progress: Pruning for the Long Term
In the most recent update from the vineyard, the team is undertaking a two-bud pruning regime across the young vines. While it might seem counter-intuitive to cut back a thriving vine so hard, the goal is to establish the strongest possible trunk before fruiting begins. The plan is to take a long view: the growth from this season will form the trunks that will support production for many years to come.
Pruning at this stage also helps the vines develop resilience to drought, supports a rich microbial environment in the soil, and reduces the need for any artificial fertilisers or pesticides. The team is on track to harvest its first grapes in 2026, with the first wines expected to be bottled and tasted in 2027.
Food, Music and Farming: The Three Pools Experience
Food is at the heart of everything at Three Pools. The team breeds and raises all of its own animals, and the on-site butchery gives them full control of quality from birth to plate. This produces the meat that anchors their seasonal dining programme.
During the summer the focus is on the wider events calendar, but from October through March - the winter months - the kitchen shifts to supper clubs and Sunday Roasts. A typical Sunday Roast menu (last published for 2025) features:
- Beef roast - £19.50
- Pork roast - £18.50
- Double meat roast - £26.00
- Seasonal plant-based roast - £17.50
- Children's roast - £12.00
All roasts come with Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, braised red cabbage and honey-glazed carrots. Small plates include black pudding and pork croquettes with truffle mayo (£6), Welsh rarebit cauliflower cheese for two (£8) and seasonal greens with miso butter (£8). Drinks come from the downstairs Sleeve Bar, open from 12:00 to 19:00, with Bristol Beer Factory brews, natural wines, small-batch mezcal and handcrafted cocktails. A £10 deposit secures a booking, with details published on the upcoming events listing.
Venue Hire: Weddings, Festivals and Private Parties
Three Pools offers three distinct venue-hire options:
- Weddings. Couples choose their ceremony spot, feast on farm-grown food, then dance the night away in the barn. On-site camping and glamping are available, or guests can stay in nearby accommodation. A Wedding Brochure is available to download, with enquiries handled through the Wedding Enquiry Form. As of the time of writing, the wedding team is fully booked until the end of 2027.
- Music Festivals. The venue comes fully equipped with licensing, food, bar, Void sound system, toilets, showers, camping, glamping and waste management - designed to take the stress out of running a festival.
- Private Parties and Corporate Events. Bespoke events that connect guests with food, farming and nature, easily accessible from major cities and at the gateway to the Brecon Beacons. Use the Event Enquiry Form to get started. The team has limited space in the off-season (November - March) for smaller events.
Accommodation: Bell Tents and Eco Cabins
Three Pools offers two on-site accommodation options. Furnished bell tents sleep 1 - 4 people and come with mattresses, bedding and lighting - guests only need to bring a towel and toothbrush. Compost toilets and hot showers are located by the camping field. Eco cabins are hand-built retreats next to the vineyard, sleeping two or four, made from locally and ethically sourced materials.
Upcoming accommodation bookings include:
- Buffalo 2026 Accommodation - Fri 7 Aug 2026.
- Lauren & Merlin Wedding Accommodation - Fri 28 Aug 2026 (09:00 - Sat 29 Aug, 13:30). Bell tent £175.00; extra nights from £35.00 to £70.00.
- HIA's Microcosmic Camping Weekend 2026 - Fri 4 Sept (14:00) - Sun 6 Sept (10:00). Bell tent reservation £250.00.
- Phil's 40th Accommodation - Fri 2 Oct (14:00) - Sun 4 Oct (13:00). Bell tents £250.00; eco cabins available for those who want a more luxurious stay next to the vineyard.
What's On: The Three Pools Events Calendar
The farm runs a busy calendar of events throughout the year. The team shares regular updates on Instagram and lists forthcoming events in their events listing. Confirmed upcoming events include:
- Creative Sleepout: Nature Craft - Fri 21 Aug 2026. An overnight nature-craft experience.
- Plus the wedding, festival and birthday accommodation bookings listed above.
Past event highlights include Wales Permaculture Festival 2024, a sell-out Three Pools Pop Up in London (a five-course tasting menu at Studio Z, with venison tartare, slow-cooked beef brisket lasagna and pork chops with confit potatoes), and a hugely popular butchery masterclass at Abergavenny Food Festival, where participants broke down two Badger Face hoggets under the guidance of Huw Evans.
Science, Education and the Bigger Picture
The team takes a candid view of measuring success. A 2022 carbon audit suggested the farm sequesters 225 - 227% of its on-farm emissions, but the founders argue that carbon counting alone is not the answer. They prefer to measure success in the taste of the food, the welfare of the livestock, the financial resilience of the business, and the enjoyment of those who visit.
Biodiversity studies have been conducted with Gwent Wildlife Trust and Monmouthshire Meadows Group, and the farm collaborates with Innovation for Agriculture as a Climate Farm Demo site. The team continues to engage with students and academics studying sustainable farming systems, and the Science & Education section recommends reading and films, including Mark Shepherd's Restoration Agriculture, Sepp Holzer's Permaculture, Dan Barber's The Third Plate, the documentaries Biggest Little Farm and Against the Grain (a portrait of the farm itself), plus Farm for the Future - another documentary portrait of Three Pools.
Visiting Three Pools
Three Pools sits in the foothills of the Black Mountains, just outside the village of Llanvetherine and within easy reach of Abergavenny. The full address is Three Pools, Llanvetherine, Abergavenny, NP7 8NL, South Wales. General enquiries go to info@threepools.co.uk, with separate enquiry forms for weddings and venue hire. The farm is active on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, where the team posts the latest on upcoming openings, supper clubs and Sunday Roasts as they are announced.
Wines aren't on the shelf yet - but if the vineyard team hits its targets, the first bottles of Dewin Wines will be poured on the farm in 2027. In the meantime, the farm offers something most vineyards can't: a chance to see the land, the livestock, the kitchen and the venue all working as one regenerative system.