Penpont the Hogg family’s experiment in resilience and renewal by Liberty Nimmo, September 2025

The Greenman Maze at Penpont

Penpont, the family run estate, set on the banks of the River Usk in the heart of the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park, has that tantalising, electric feel.  The estate has been in the family since 1665 and there is a far-reaching sense of hundreds of years of history blended with the youthful energy and dynamism that the current custodians, Gavin and Vina Hogg and their sons Forrest and Josh, are bringing.

Stepping into the kitchen feels like a transcendence of time and I’m not quite sure if, whilst standing in front of the aga, overlooking the original 18^th Century Dresser stuffed full of beautiful local ceramics, I am rooted in the past or catapulted into the future.  Forrest and I, almost immediately, begin to talk in big ideas; seed saving, systemic change within the food system, resilience and access to land.  Here at Penpont, an Intergenerational land Restoration project is underway; this is a partnership with Action for Conservation, bringing together the Hogg family, tenant farmers, community elders and groups of local young people. Together they are restoring nature and cultural heritage.  This has been named The Penpont Project which is one of ten pioneering regenerative farming projects featured in the The We Feed the UK campaign and  facilitated by the The Gaia Foundation. Whilst talking, we’re only pulled back from the future to the present when Forrest’s father Gavin comes in for a cuppa and a break from clearing a woodland of Ash die back – the devastating disease that is decimating ash trees across the country - and the penny drops that this family are, of course, somewhat extraordinary;  they seem able to embrace and celebrate the past, have the energy and grit to tackle the day to day work of the present, and the foresight to think about what the next 100 years looks like.  Hats off to them.

It feels a little trite to list the different layers and aspects that run through Penpont but I’m not sure quite how to do them all justice; there is a beautiful and sensitively restored holiday let which sleeps up to 16 people, the site can be rented for filming and events, there’s a bar and events space in the restored stables as well as a community library that have all been fully restored using timber from, and milled on the estate – this year’s Pride at Penpont party was a a riot – a farm shop, a wood fired sauna and camping on the banks of the river Usk, a market garden supplying the farm shop, a tree nursery (with particular emphasis on bringing back the native Black Poplar tree), a biomass boiler with sustainable harvesting of their own woodfuel, and a very wonderful Green Man maze symbolising regeneration that is now 25 years old.   So yes, this elongated, far-reaching and all-encompassing list most certainly suggests that there are just a few things going on here. And, I don’t imagine there’s a huge amount of sitting around that gets done.

Running alongside these various enterprises and charitable foundation led projects, the estate itself is made up of a number of farms, one of which has been brought back in hand by the family.  They are, of course, taking a holistic and regenerative approach to the management of their soils and biodiversity whilst producing food for the local community.  Layered into the management plan for the farm is the partnership with Action for Conservation whereby the longer term, broader goal is for the farm to inspire the next generation of environmentalists, farmers and growers from a diverse range of backgrounds.  The breadth and depth that runs through this estate is so impressive, as is the energy and excitement around the learning and evolution.  I can feel the shackles of my cynicism gently loosen as it’s very clear that I’m surrounded by people who aren’t afraid to try – something which is particularly challenging in an industry plagued by all kinds of uncertainty.

Over the last 30 or so years, the Hogg family have gently and painstakingly restored roof by dilapidated roof of the estate buildings as well as the main 18^th Century house itself with all its add-ons (the 19^th Century conservatory and the Regency portico at the front of the house, both of which were designed by Henry Underwood of Cheltenham are particularly beautiful). In the main house, alongside initially running a B&B business, Vina and Gavin completed a huge overhaul of the plumbing, heating, painting and they replaced the furniture, involving friends and locals along the way.  The restoration of the interiors, the buildings and the wider landscape has been a labour of love as well as one of ingenuity and, notably, of patience.  I for one could learn from this; these huge projects take time and, whilst the path can be winding, with resilience and a clear vision an arrival is possible.

I’m left with a sense that the Hogg family here at Penpont are most definitely asking the right questions: namely, how is it that we can celebrate our past, whilst using our work in the present to both pay the bills and simultaneously create a viable and sustainable plan for the future?  The wider question that seems to flow out of this is how can we then encourage and nurture an interest in, as well as access to, food production, nature conservation and land management amongst the next generation in a way that is accessible to anyone who is interested, irrelevant of their social background?  They’re into the big stuff here and it’s completely inspirational to bear witness to and to see the cogs in motion.  It is, however, also important to add that this is done with a lightness; a lightness of touch, combined with a need for adaptability, versatility and importantly, with a sense of fun and zest for life.  I for one would love to be a fly on the wall in 150 years time at Penpont.

More information about Penpont and the work on the estate as well as information about weddings, celebrations, retreats, workshops and the sauna can be found here.