Jeremy Clarkson opened the doors of his all-new Cotswolds pub, The Farmer’s Dog, this August Bank Holiday Weekend, and, as expected, thousands flocked for their first pint of Hawkstone.
I was one of the first few to attend myself and witness the flocks of adoring fans keen to step inside the picturesque drinking establishment, seeing firsthand how the Clarkson’s Farm star had transformed a dilapidated old pub into a thriving business hub.
The pub boasts sprawling green spaces for punters to enjoy their food and drink outside while it can seat approximately 275 diners across its terrace and indoor facilities.
Then there’s the repurposed Grand Tour marquee on the vast garden which boasts a butcher, an off-licence (AKA Hawkstone-heavy store), a mini Diddly Squat Farm Shop, and the Farmer’s Puppy – a giant food truck serving up hot food for those unable to get a table in the pub.
With so much on offer at the grounds, it’s no wonder that the local council introduced a series of traffic changes to cope with the abundance of visitors – but what impact will The Farmer’s Dog have on neighbouring town, Burford?
I ventured into the town after my visit to the pub formerly known as The Windmill to gauge the locals’ reaction – and it’s safe to say Clarkson’s new business venture has sparked a rather mixed reaction.
The Farmer’s Dog: Clarkson fans queued for hours to get into the pub on launch day
PA
Chris, the Manager at local pub The Mermaid at Burford, was the first to speak to me and he was far from concerned by Clarkson opening a rival pub up the road.
“It’s brilliant,” he said. “I think (it will be good for business), there’s enough to go around, especially in the Cotswolds.”
He no longer lives in Burford but travels in for work from nearby Stratford-upon-Avon, although he isn’t worried The Farmer’s Dog will add extra minutes to his journey to work.
“Nah, (the traffic’s) bad as it is, it can’t get any worse,” he explained. “I think he’s doing good, he’s opened people’s eyes up for farming, the struggles. My family is from a farming background and there are a lot of people who weren’t aware of how tough it was.”
This praise was echoed by business owner Lauren, who runs the Burford Sweet Shop, as she relished the prospect of added tourism to the area.
“I don’t see a problem with it, at all. It brings tourism to the area that we sorely need,” she began. “We were expecting worse traffic than we’ve had today but, to be honest, it’s been okay.
The Farmer’s Dog: Jeremy Clarkson’s presence and impact on the local area is evident on Burford High Street
GB NEWS
“If anything, I think Diddly Squat has been quite good for the area because it’s brought a lot of people from all over the world. We have people come in here that will have gone up there [Diddly Squat] in the morning and come for lunch in Burford and they’ve come specifically to the area to see it.”
When asked if she’ll be paying a visit to The Farmer’s Dog, Lauren quips: “Eventually when I get out of here! After the school holidays when it’s quietened down a bit I’ll go have a pint.”
However, one local business owner – who didn’t wish to be named – wasn’t as enthusiastic as her fellow High Street vendors at the prospect of such a big name moving their business up the road.
“He’s as entitled to purchase as anybody else,” she diplomatically told me before explaining: “I think there will be a bottleneck at the end of the dual carriageway on the A40, I hope safety is taken into account.
“There are concerns locally because obviously there’s the main road here but if people start off at one end and go the other then sat navs can possibly take you through very small villages and not very good roads.
“The thing is from Chadlington to Asthall, you can go across the country and sat navs will think is more direct and will end up blocking it all up if past experiences in Chadlington are anything to go by. But you know, it’s happening, we’ll have to wait and see. I might be wrong.”
Traffic concerns were a familiar feature in the feedback from residents too, as Melanie, a boutique sales assistant who lives in the town, told me: “If I’m brutally honest, I didn’t actually used to like Jeremy Clarkson but over the last few weeks I watched Clarkson’s Farm…
“I understand his plight, understand that he needs an outlet for whatever it is he’s doing – growing, farming, whatever. I know (traffic) has been massively difficult around the farm, hasn’t it? Certainly, the A40 can handle it, I don’t think that’s a problem.
“Burford High Street? Well, that’s a problem anyway. It’s the traffic lights at the bottom because you can only go one way so there’s always a wait.
“Yeah, it might have an impact on Burford High Street as in moving traffic but actually I think it’s an interesting thing to be doing.”
Finally, I popped into High Street butcher WJ Castle to hear their thoughts on Clarkson opening up his very own meat-selling store in the marquee adjacent to his pub.
The Farmer’s Dog: Jeremy Clarkson’s pub opening has sparked some concerns with locals
PA/GB NEWS
But manager Will revealed his business is actually benefitting directly from Diddly Squat’s farm animals.
“(I was) a little bit sceptical to begin with… is it more of a publicity stunt than an actual Burford pub? But on the flip side of that, it’s going to bring a lot of people to the area so fingers crossed it will do well to the town and bring people into the town,” Will began.
“I think eventually it will be a positive, the first few months might be a bit chaotic with too many people coming to the area. I mean, the roads around the area aren’t great. It will add to traffic definitely, but hopefully, people will stop off in the town and spend a bit of money here as well.
“We’re part of a small group and we actually supply a lot of meat for him anyway – not from here, from another location – so he’s boosting our company’s trade.
“It’s meat off his farm and then it’s sent to our catering unit and then it’s chopped up there and sent back. He’s a good advert for British farming. (I will go) eventually, but Diddly Squat… people queue up two or three hours for that place,” he added, keen to wait for quieter times before venturing to Asthall.
There were two major takeaways from my chats with the locals in Burford regarding Clarkson’s new pub. The first was that there was an overwhelming sense the pub would benefit the town due to the large amount of footfall it would generate.
The second is that the local planning authorities in Burford have failed to solve an already pressing and dire problem when it comes to the traffic demands on the town. Whether Clarkson could be made a scapegoat for major changes to infrastructure remains to be seen.
