Many in Berkshire will already be preparing all the bits and bobs ready for Christmas dinner, none of which are (arguably) more important than the annual turkey.

The family-run Walters Turkeys at Bower Farm has been providing the festive bird to Reading locals since the early 70s.

The business started with Julia and Philip Walters, who met through Berkshire Young Farmers.

They got married in 1971 and as they were both from farming backgrounds, they decided to try their hand and raising chickens and turkeys.

The amount they reared steadily grew each year, so eventually Walters Turkeys was born in 1998.

Julia’s and Philip’s children Helen, Edward, and George now all work for the business.

“Me and Kate (Edward’s wife) man the office,” Mrs Helen Hurst said. “Ed farms the land.”

Edward is the fourth generation of the Walters Family to be farming at Bower Farm, and he works alongside his father who is still actively involved.

The farm supplies turkeys to numerous local farm shops and butchers and sells around 500 from the farm gate which they only open for pick up on December 22 and 23.

They supply turkeys country-wide now too.

“This year we started getting people ordering their turkeys in September,” Mrs Hurst said. “It gets earlier every year.”

“A lot of families in the area get their turkeys from us. A lot of people get their Walters turkey every year, it’s like a tradition.”

The family has just started preparing the turkeys for their Christmas orders. The process takes around 10 days, and all the turkeys are mostly fed from food already grown on the farm.

They also take in early orders for Thanksgiving. “The Thanksgiving market grows every year for us.

“We supply some London butchers for Americans who want to celebrate. I would say it’s a growing market.”

Edward lives on the Farm with his wife Kate and their two children Annabelle and Percy. Most of the family pitches in to help with the Christmas season.

Mrs Hurst said: “It’s great because my mum can easily help if the family needs anything, like children being taken care of.”

All the family will be up at the farm this year to celebrate Christmas, and they will all enjoy a Walters turkey with their Christmas dinner.

“We tend to eat a bit later so all the animals are fed,” said Mrs Hurst. “But we’ll have a turkey along with loads of veg, lots of stuffing, and bread pudding.”