I thought I would try some winter varieties.
I have read online that you can plant sprouts

Sprouts as in mung beans, alfalfa, etc indoors? Yeah, that's not too
hard. Google comes up with
http://www.islandnet.com/~see/living.../sprouting.htm

cabbage

This one has a number of insect pests, at least in many places. For a
small scale garden just picking off the insects by hand is often
practical. But yes, does well in the fall.

peas

Here in Washington, DC, USA (USDA zone 7), I've read this does better
in the spring (the plants being more cold tolerant than the pods).
But the UK winters are probably milder, so if you have read it works
there as a fall/winter crop, sure.

broad beans

Probably will overwinter for a spring harvest. Although I'm not sure
exactly how mild the winter has to be for this to work.

You could also consider:

lettuce
spinach
kale

and probably some other cold weather crops I'm not thinking of just
now.