Oxfordshire village farm shop ‘delighted’ by award win

Britwell Salome Farm Shop, at Red Lion Farm in the South Oxfordshire countryside near Watlington, has been named ‘local food and drink champions’ for the south east in the Countryside Alliance Awards 2026.

Julia Mearns, co-owner of the popular farm shop, said they are ‘delighted’ by the recognition.

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“We are very thankful and amazed that our small farm shop is doing so well,” she said. “We appreciate that so many people took the time to vote for us as it is based on nominations for the shortlist and then public voting.

The team at Britwell Salome Farm Shop, left to right are master butcher Martin Piddington, Jake Howard, co-owner Julia Mearns, shop manager Amanda Saunders, and Wayne Anderson (Image: Julia Mearns)

“Our customers and the village are delighted for us and frequently tell us which is lovely.

“The next stage is  the national final against regional winners from the rest of the country, and we will find out how we did at a reception in The House of Lords in July.”

Though they were named runner up in the Muddy Stiletto’s award for best farm shop in Bucks, Berks and Oxfordshire last year, it’s the farm shop’s first award nomination – let alone win – for the Countryside Alliance.

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The annual award series has been running for 19 years to highlight the achievements of rural businesses, which names a winner and a highly commended runner-up across the categories of butcher, local food and drink, pub, rural enterprise and village shop/post office.

Ms Mearns said her family, including herself, her husband and their son, set up at Red Lion Farm in 1993 and took over the chilled unit in the barn when it became vacant in 2008, to begin selling the farm’s meat, including pork, beef and lamb, directly to customers, from field to fork.

Britwell Salome Farm Shop, 2011 (Image: Des Blenkinsopp / Wikimedia Commons)

She added: “We are a true farm shop in every sense of the word – especially noticeable when the pig staff come in for their purchases.

“Customers’ facial expressions say a lot, and we always say without them, we wouldn’t have our wonderful pork products!”

Britwell Salome Farm shop also stocks a large selection of other locally produced food, from seasonal fruit and veg from a farm in Stanton St John to local honey from the village, jams and preserves which raise money for Oxford homeless charity Porch, to bread baked fresh in Thame.

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Winning their first award after 30 years, Ms Mearns put the increased appreciation of farm shops down to people beginning to care more about where their food comes from.

The co-owner said: “Farm shops are becoming more popular, people are more aware of where they are buying their food.

“I’m just honoured that people voted for us in those numbers.”