Helen Peacocke finds the healthiest animals at a farm in South Oxfordshire

I am not sure why on earth I bothered to ask if the chickens in the display cabinet were free range — given their firm plump flesh and strong bones they couldn’t have been anything else. When chickens have spent their life walking free rather than being crammed into a cage with no space to turn they look as those looked — superb. These magnificent chickens came from College Farm, Gibblecote, which is close to Tring.

I was visiting The Red Lion Farm Shop, Britwell Salome, South Oxfordshire, run by butcher Chris Collins who joined forces with farmer John Hearns in 2008 to promote local food. The chickens are just one of the many local products that make this venue so special.

It can be found just behind the Red Lion pub which stands beside the B4009 that runs between Watlington and Benson. It’s a delightful little shop that sells all things local, including milk, vegetables, mustards, pickles, jams and locally-brewed beer.

Because there’s livestock grazing within a stone’s throw of the shop, local pork, bacon and well hung joints of beef dominate the main display counter.

Chris is always quick to point out, this is not a glorified gift shop selling overpriced goods. It’s a simple farm shop that celebrates good food and supports a local economy.

I was at the Red Lion Farm shop at the suggestion of Bruce Young, the mustard maker from Hailey, who I mentioned last week. Bruce kindly offered me a lift to Britwell Salome as he was making a Christmas delivery of his Oxford Mustard to Chris.

The pork comes from a small herd of Landrace Duroc that live but a stone’s throw from the shop and are produced by farmer John Nearns, who sells most of his pork to Marks & Spencer, leaving 40 to one side to service the needs of the shop.

Chris says that Landrace Duroc are an excellent breed, known for their long bodies which are a butcher’s delight as long bodies means more bacon.

The Aberdeen Angus beef, which Chris hangs for at least 20 days (sometimes more) comes from about a mile away, and if you stand outside the shop you can see the flocks of sheep he uses in the far distance grazing the pastures at nearby Woods Farm.

The chicken, which rate as the most succulent I have ever tasted, come from Gibblecote. The pork, beef, lamb and chicken is all free range . . . Chris wouldn’t have it any other way.

He believes that if you bring animals into the world you have to treat them properly.

“Any farmer I call on to provide produce for my shop must feel the same way as I do about providing them with a good life while they are in our care.”

He conducts taste tests too, and nothing is placed in his meat cabinet unless Chris is confident that it offers the taste he is looking for, which is why he sells such delicious chicken.

The vegetables come from local growers and include some of the less popular lines such as kale and turnips. Chris is the first to admit that the turnips are not a best seller, even though he sells them for just a few pence each. He says people don’t know what to do with them.

“I advise them to use as they would potatoes, add them to stew or roast them as you would a King Edward, but they are not popular,” he admitted.

The main advantage of shopping at farm shops such as this, is that there is no mystery as to where the food comes from, no complicated food chain and no middle man. His aim is for the local community to support the shop, just as the shop will in turn support the local community. If the shop prospers so will the community.

The Red Lion Farm Shop is not the only farm shop in Oxfordshire. Luckily, we have quite a few to choose from, most specialising in products from their own farm. In the summer many are attached to Pick-Your-Owns, but at this time of the year you will find them offering an assortment of fresh meats and freshly-harvested winter vegetables. Some, such as Rectory Farm, Stan-ton St John, will be closed now until the asparagus pops up in the spring.

Dews Meadow Farm, near East Hanney, is open throughout the year. Here you can purchase delicious black puddings made on the premises. Well’s Stores at Peach Ccroft Farm, Radley, is the shop for freshly-baked artisan breads, dry- cured bacon, farm-made sausages and much more. It is an Aladdin’s cave of local produce, even at this time of the year.

My New Year’s resolution is get to know them all during the forthcoming year, so I am declaring 2014 the year of the Farm Shop.