It was a beautiful autumn day and Neston Park Farm Shop seemed an ideal place to take my mother.

The converted barn near Atworth was opened four years ago and enjoys a lovely spot just off the A365. Pigs snout around and a herd of Jersey cows graze nearby.

The shop and café have a 1km “enchanted” woodland walk through a small copse and, within the grounds itself, a lovely little play area with climbing equipment and a living willow den.

Visitors pass through the bakery, butchery and deli shop, which sells a range of locally-produced food, plus other items. When I visited, sculptures of deer created by Bradford on Avon artist Liz Watts were on sale.

I first chanced on the café when I was out with my 17-year-old daughter in the school holidays when the café was filled with yummy mummies and their offspring. Last week, when I went with my 91-year-old mother, it seemed to be packed with middle-aged and older people.

The menu offers small plates from £2.50 to £6.50 and salads and larger plates from £6.95 to £8.75.

It also has more substantial steaks from its grill section, with fillet steak costing £15, to which you add your own extras. These include triple cooked chips, £2.75, and onion rings, £2.50.

My mother chose devilled lambs’ kidneys on toast (£5.95) which she said were wonderfully cooked and full of flavour. The toast was thick and crisp.

I chose a warm salad of free range chicken and bacon, toasted pine kernels, honey and mustard dressing (£6.75). The goujons were attractively presented on a deep white plate, with the red-veined leaves covered in a very fine dressing.

Afterwards we enjoyed lemon drizzle cake and millionaire’s shortbread. My lemon cake was crisp on the outside and moist inside. The total bill, with an elderflower cordial and a cappuccino, came to a very reasonable £22.15.

Set in grounds of Neston Park’s organic Home Farm

Open Monday to Saturday, 9am-5.30pm, Sunday 10am to 4pm.

Shop sells home-grown meat

Children’s play area and 1km nature trail through woodland

Among top 50 Top Farm Shops, The Independent

Our Eating Out is an independent review carried out by the Times without prior knowledge of the owners.

* The correct contact number for The Kicking Donkey at Brokerswood, which featured in last week’s Eating Out, is (01373) 823250. Our apologies for the error and any inconvenience caused.