To be custodians of this beautiful venue is a true privilege and one that every member of our team takes very seriously. It means everything that our couples entrust us with their wedding day and we aim to deliver the very best wedding possible whilst striving to reduce the impact that our activities and actions have on the environment.

Photo by Milk Bottle Photography
Photo by Tom Halliday Photography
Photo by Liz Greenhalgh Photography
Photo by Liz Greenhalgh Photography
Photo by Tom Halliday Photography
Photo by Liz Greenhalgh Photography
Photo by Tom Halliday Photography
Photo by Liz Greenhalgh Photography
Photo by Ria Mishaal Photography
Photo by Tom Halliday Photography
Photo by Caroline Hancox Photography
Photo by Tom Halliday Photography
Photo by Ria Mishaal Photography
Photo by Helen Warner Photography
Photo by Tom Halliday Photography
Photo by Helen Warner Photography
Photo by Lina & Tom
Photo by Tom Halliday Photography
Photo by Tom Halliday Photography
Photo by Helen Warner Photography
Photo by Tom Halliday Photography

FROM FIELD TO FORK...

Our organic smallholding supplies nearly all our vegetables, herbs, fruit, eggs and some of our pork whatever the season. We grow literally hundreds of varieties of fruit, vegetables and herbs all freshly harvested and delivered by hand to our kitchen. What isn’t cooked fresh from the garden is preserved for sauces, compotes and cordials. It’s the key to our fresh, seasonal and organic wedding food and you’ll really taste the difference!

Wildlife Conservation and Eco-friendly Planting

Over the years we have created diverse wildlife habitats and planted over 1000 indigenous hardwood trees, heritage orchards and kilometres of hedgerow. Our pretty wildflower meadows provide essential food and homes for bees and other wildlife. Our nesting boxes are home to our resident breeding birds including barn owls. We also manage a local reservoir and nature reserve, home to diverse wildlife including crayfish, kingfishers, reed warblers and over half of all the dragon fly species found in the UK.

Building Conservation

Our Grade II listed barns and farmhouse are sympathetically restored retaining the history of the original working farm. Developing the land from a barren site with just two trees to the beautiful landscape you see today has been a labour of love over fifty years. Our beautiful buildings take pride of place encircled by meadows, courtyards, gardens and our organic smallholding.
Photo by Lina & Tom Photography Photo by Lina & Tom Photography

Waste Reduction

At the heart of our efforts to sustainably manage waste is the reduction of single use plastics including bags and bottles. All our drinking water is provided in glass jugs and bottles or kilner jars. We only use bio-degradable paper straws and have refillable toiletry bottles in our guest bedrooms. Any waste generated is carefully sorted and recycled.
Photo by Ria Mishaal Photography Photo by Ria Mishaal Photography

WATER PRESERVATION

Our wildlife ponds are pretty and also functional. Our reed and willow bed uses the waste water on site with a large amount of the excess returned to our onsite water table. Water from our onsite borehole is used for irrigating our crops and toilet flushing. The reed bed, our wildlife ponds and water reserves also provide an ecological habitat for a wide range of animal species.
Photo by Caroline Hancox Photography Photo by Caroline Hancox Photography

FIELD TO FORK

Our homegrown produce is tended with care and delivered daily to the kitchen by our smallholding team meaning zero food miles, zero packaging costs and minimised refrigerated storage. Working together our chefs and growers plan the planting and harvesting across our 10-acre smallholding. Our talented chefs create seasonal menus from the produce grown on site.
Photo by Ria Mishaal Photography Photo by Ria Mishaal Photography

OUR ANIMALS

Our rare-breed animals live in harmony in the barnyard and paddocks. White peacocks rub shoulders with pigs, runner ducks and chickens while our sheep and lambs graze in the paddocks.  Our chickens and bantams produce rich, tasty eggs for the kitchen. We keep Black Runner Ducks with our poultry flock to protect them from local foxes.
Photo by Lina and Tom Photography Photo by Lina and Tom Photography

OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT

We email our brochure where possible, reducing paper and post costs. In-room refreshments are supplied in glass bottles. We don’t provide fridges in our guest accommodation, with the exception of the Coach House Suite for the obligatory bottle of fizz for our newly-weds!
Photo by Ria Mishaal Photography Photo by Ria Mishaal Photography

GREEN ENERGY

We are committed to a fully green energy tariff and continue to roll out low energy appliances and lighting. Our food and cooking oil waste is sustainably recycled by Olleco and converted to biodiesel,  biomethane, electricity, heat and organic fertiliser
Photo by Photography by Bea Photo by Photography by Bea

A HAPPY TEAM!

Our talented team bring a wide range of skills. We recruit locally offering flexible employment, progressive training, apprenticeships and work experience placements. Our enthusiasm is contagious and extends to everything we do! All that we do is underpinned by our love of weddings and our heartfelt sustainable principles. We are so proud of the feedback we receive from our couples and their guests.
Photo by Milkbottle Photography Photo by Milkbottle Photography

HOMEGROWN WITH LOVE

Our farming using organic principles and harnesses the power of nature to help us grow a diverse crop range with no need for chemical fertilisers, herbicides or pesticides. Our orchard provides an abundance of fruit, our free-range chickens give us all our eggs. Over-winter storage for crops such as squash and garlic mean these can be used in our menus all year. We pick elderflower seasonally to make delicious cordial, perfect for soft drinks or a bubbly Elderlini!
Photo by Ria Mishaal Photography Photo by Ria Mishaal Photography

DIVERSITY

We are proud to offer fully plant-based and vegetarian menus and a wide range of ethnic menus so prepare yourself for a truly delicious feast whatever your dietary needs may be! Our chefs are experienced in an impressive range of cuisines including Kosher-friendly, Asian, Moroccan, European, African, Halal, Afgan to name a few. Our comprehensive wine selection includes organic, vegetarian and vegan options.
Photo by Tom Halliday Photography Photo by Tom Halliday Photography

SUSTAINABLE SOURCING

We source responsibly using local suppliers wherever possible.  We endeavour to buy organic, free-trade and Rainforest Alliance certified products wherever we can. Sustainability is high on the menu here – we only externally source what we really have to, preferring to use our own home-grown produce whenever we can.
Photo by Caroline Hancox Photography Photo by Caroline Hancox Photography

OUR COMMUNITY

We support the Red Cross and other good causes including Orchid Cancer Charity, Petals Baby Loss Counselling, Wedding Wishing Well Foundation and National Garden Scheme. We are a member of Olio, a food sharing organisation and are proud of the local friendships we have fostered.  Our community efforts are of mutual benefit – our large composting facilities which feed our fields are enriched by horse manure supplied by our friendly neighbours’ stables.
Photo by Ria Mishaal Photography Photo by Ria Mishaal Photography

GREEN WEDDINGS

If you’d like to reduce the carbon footprint of your Wedding we are here to help. We regularly update advice to our couples on sustainable weddings and we love hearing about your wedding plans & ideas. Whether you have questions about our eco-friendly initiatives or sourcing locally grown seasonal flowers, sustainable favours or eco-friendly decorations for your wedding day our friendly team are on hand!
Photo by Photography by Bea Photo by Photography by Bea

CONFETTI LOVE

We supply beautiful dried rose petal confetti for all our couples. And uniquely in the Summer months our confetti is homegrown! Our Dublin Bay red roses are grown especially for confetti and we harvest and dry the petals for guests to use! Throughout the rest of the year we source bio-degradable rose petals so your confetti is not only pretty and fragrant but also environmentally friendly!
Photo by Race Abrook Photography Photo by Race Abrook Photography
20 ACRES OF FARM & GARDENS
140 FREE RANGE CHICKENS
250 DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF FRUIT & VEGETABLES
1200 NATIVE TREES PLANTED

Louisa & Andrew Fortune-Terrell  READ MORE

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call us on:

01223 207581

or visit:

South Farm, Shingay-cum-Wendy, Royston, Hertfordshire SG8 0HR

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